Duchess of York evades extradition over TV row
The Home Office has refused a request from Turkey to extradite Sarah, Duchess of York after she was charged with criminal offences relating to an undercover documentary about orphanages.
Turkish prosecutors made a formal request to the Home Office on Thursday to help them gather evidence against the Duchess after she and an ITV1 crew filmed children in a state-run orphanage near Ankara.
Turkey’s chief prosecutor charged the Duchess in her absence with “violating the privacy” of five children, an offence which carries a prison sentence of up to 22 and a half years.
But a spokesman for the Home Office told The Daily Telegraph that no assistance would be given to the Turkish authorities because the Duchess’s actions in exposing poor conditions at the orphanage did not constitute a crime in the UK.
“Under UK extradition law a judge must order the discharge of [an extradition request] if it is not an offence under UK law and in the country requesting extradition,” said the spokesman. “In this case there is no offence in UK law so there will be no extradition.”
While the Home Office’s refusal to help Turkey is good news for the 52-year-old Duchess, she would still face arrest if she ever went back to Turkey.
By Gordon Rayner, Chief Reporter
7:00PM GMT 13 Jan 2012 daily telegraph