Speedboat killer Jack Shepherd, 31, pictured today at a court hearing in Tbilisi, Georgia
Speedboat killer Jack Shepherd Shepherd will stay in jail in Georgia for the next few months after a judge today refused to fast track his extradition.
The decision at an emergency hearing at Tbilisi Central Court came after the killer insisted he did not want to be extradited over fears for his safety in a UK prison, telling the judge: ‘I wish to decline.’
Prosecutors had been pushing for Shepherd to be extradited quickly to Britain, but it now appears the process could drag on for another few months.
Shepherd’s appearance today comes after his lawyer claimed the death on the River Thames is not a crime in Georgia as she vowed to fight his extradition.
The 31-year-old killer, who was convicted of the manslaughter of Charlotte Brown in the UK last July, would also prefer to serve his sentence in Tbilisi, she said.
Mariam Kublashvili said the charge he was convicted of after the speedboat flipped near Wandsworth Bridge in 2015 does not apply under Georgian law.
Shepherd sits behind his lawyer Mariam Kublashvili (left) at Tbilisi Central Court this afternoon
Prosecutors had wanted Shepherd (pictured today) to be extradited quickly to Britain
Ms Kublashvili told BBC News: ‘What happened, in the River of Thames, is not a crime by Georgian law.
‘If their behaviour which the person made or did not make, is not in Georgian law a crime, the person must be not extradited. He prefers to serve his sentence in Georgia. For him it is better to stay here if it is possible.’
Shepherd appeared in court in Tbilisi today in the latest stage of the bid to extradite him to the UK.
Writing on Facebook earlier, his lawyer Tariel Kakabadze said: ‘Prosecutor requested Jack Shepherd’s urgent extradition according to simplified rules.
‘We, Jack Shepherd’s defence team, are going to fight the request!’
The appearance today comes after his lawyer claimed the death is not a crime in Georgia
Shepherd in court in Tbilisi today, in the latest stage of the bid to extradite him to the UK
Shepherd, 31, claimed Miss Brown, 24, of Clacton-on-Sea, Essex, was driving the speedboat when it flipped.
Mariam Kublashvili spent more than three hours with Shepherd at Gldani Number Eight maximum-security prison in Tblisi yesterday
He fled to Georgia after being charged with manslaughter and was jailed for six years in his absence.
The web designer is being held for three months at Gldani Number Eight maximum-security prison, run by Georgia’s Ministry of Corrections, in Tbilisi.
It is known for its poor treatment of prisoners, with outrage in 2012 when guards were filmed beating inmates and carrying out sexual humiliation punishments with broom handles.
Ms Kublashvili spent more than three hours with him there yesterday.
Shepherd is sharing a room with two other inmates and must use communal toilet and shower facilities.
Miss Kublashvili, a former swimwear model who once starred on Georgia’s equivalent of Strictly Come Dancing, said Shepherd is struggling with the menu at the prison because he is a vegan.
Jack Shepherd (left) has continuted to blame Charlotte Brown (right) for the speedboat accident on the River Thames in London that killed her
The speedboat owned by Shepherd who was found guilty of killing his date on the Thames
One source said Shepherd appeared calm and looked ‘solid and silent’ on his first ever night in prison.
He has never served a day of his six-year sentence for killing Miss Brown.
Despite claiming in court he handed himself in ‘to draw to a close this horrible accident and the terrible consequences’, slippery Shepherd is still not cooperating with the authorities.
He supplied a fake address in Tbilisi and police sources say they are still trying to find out where he was living.
After a worldwide campaign by the Mail, he handed himself in, but is now dragging his heels as Britain attempts to extradite him to face justice.
He hopes to win his appeal in London via video link from Georgia.
Miss Kublashvili declared she intends to fight his case all the way.
She said he would undergo psychological analysis to show he fled under duress and could try to stave off extradition.
Shepherd spent ten months on the run before surrendering to police in Tbilisi last Wednesday.
He told his Georgian girlfriend Maiko Tchanturidze, 24, that he was going to hand himself in because he ‘didn’t want to be hunted down like an animal’.