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| Cyprus pair 'should serve term' | |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Two men convicted in their absence over the killing of a youth in Cyprus should be extradited to serve their jail sentences, a judge has ruled. | |
| Michael Binnington, 23, and Luke Atkinson, 24, both of Witham, Essex, have fought efforts to have them returned to serve three-year terms. | |
| A district judge at City of Westminster Magistrates' Court in London made the ruling. They have seven days to appeal. | A district judge at City of Westminster Magistrates' Court in London made the ruling. They have seven days to appeal. |
| The pair were passengers in a car which hit a moped, killing a 17-year-old boy. | The pair were passengers in a car which hit a moped, killing a 17-year-old boy. |
| The car was being driven by Atkinson's uncle, Julian Harrington, in Protaras in 2006 when it hit the moped, killing pillion passenger Christos Papiris. | |
| Harrington, also from Witham, is serving a 15-year jail sentence after admitting manslaughter and causing grievous bodily harm. | |
| Initially acquitted | |
| Atkinson, who works in a restaurant, and Binnington, an office administrator, were sentenced in their absence last April by the Supreme Court of Cyprus. | |
| Their legal team had argued that the court acted unfairly in sentencing them when they had previously been acquitted of conspiracy to commit manslaughter. | |
| Christos Papiris was a pillion passenger on the moped | |
| Speaking outside court their solicitor, Karen Todner, said: "We are disappointed with the ruling but we will be launching an appeal and we are hopeful for those proceedings. | |
| "Luke and Michael had been very anxious about the hearing, it's been hanging over their heads for a long time. | |
| "They don't want to go to Cyprus and they shouldn't have to." | |
| Atkinson and Binnington argued they were only involved "unwittingly" as back-seat passengers in a highly drunken state. | |
| The court had been told that Harrington set off in pursuit of the moped at "very high speed" after a brawl outside a nightclub. | |
| It was later discovered that the moped riders had nothing to do with the earlier fight. | |
| Atkinson and Binnington were initially acquitted by a Cypriot court in February 2007, but that verdict was overturned by the higher court in January 2008. |