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India to repatriate ill UK inmate | India to repatriate ill UK inmate |
(40 minutes later) | |
A seriously ill Briton serving a jail term for drugs offences in a notorious Indian prison is to see out his 10-year sentence in the UK, officials say. | |
Stephen Jenkins, 58, from Yorkshire, is being held in Delhi's crowded Tihar jail after being convicted in 2006. | |
Prison officials say he wants to die in his homeland. The UK says arrangements for his transfer are nearly complete. | |
Jenkins will be among the first inmates to benefit under a 2005 India-UK accord on prisoner transfers. | Jenkins will be among the first inmates to benefit under a 2005 India-UK accord on prisoner transfers. |
'Very happy' | 'Very happy' |
"I want to die in my homeland. I can serve the rest of my imprisonment in my country's jail. Please send me," Jenkins wrote in his request for transfer, a Tihar prison official told the BBC. | "I want to die in my homeland. I can serve the rest of my imprisonment in my country's jail. Please send me," Jenkins wrote in his request for transfer, a Tihar prison official told the BBC. |
The appeal was forwarded to the governments of India and the UK and accepted about a fortnight ago, the jail official said. | |
He said Jenkins had Aids and was set to leave for Britain in the second week of May. | |
Court orders bar Jenkins from talking to the media, but Tihar officials say he is "very happy" that he is going home. | Court orders bar Jenkins from talking to the media, but Tihar officials say he is "very happy" that he is going home. |
"He is old and he is seriously ill. He thinks he will not survive his full sentence," the official said. | "He is old and he is seriously ill. He thinks he will not survive his full sentence," the official said. |
According to jail records, Stephen Jenkins is from Yorkshire in northern England and was unemployed before travelling to India. | |
The records say he was arrested in August 2004. In November 2006 he was sentenced to 10 years in jail for "peddling drugs". | The records say he was arrested in August 2004. In November 2006 he was sentenced to 10 years in jail for "peddling drugs". |
Overcrowding | |
A spokeswoman for the UK's Foreign and Commonwealth Office said the details of the transfer were still being finalised. | A spokeswoman for the UK's Foreign and Commonwealth Office said the details of the transfer were still being finalised. |
"Procedures are in place to formalise the request and complete it," she told the BBC. | "Procedures are in place to formalise the request and complete it," she told the BBC. |
She could not confirm when Jenkins would return to the UK, or give any details on his medical condition. | |
She said a small number of prisoners had already been repatriated under the transfer accord. | She said a small number of prisoners had already been repatriated under the transfer accord. |
Tihar, in the west of India's capital, is the country's biggest prison. It has the capacity to accommodate 6,250 inmates, but houses many more. | |
Last June, more than double that number were being held there and over 600 prisoners being held for minor offences were freed to ease congestion. | |
At least six inmates and one warder died in the searing summer heat. | |
Adequate drinking water and other basic amenities are scarce. |
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