Arif Naqvi will be at the mercy of gangsters if sent to US prison, witnesses say

LONDON: Two key witnesses have told the Westminster Magistrates’ Court in the extradition trial of Abraaj Group founder Arif Naqvi that the Pakistani national’s life will be at risk if extradited to the United States.

According to the witnesses, Naqvi will be at the mercy of "violent gang members who operate within US prisons," if such a move is made.

The statements were made by the witnesses on the last day of Naqvi’s extradition hearing before District Judge Emma Arbuthnot.

Read more: Arif Naqvi case: Expert witness tells court ex-Abraaj CEO will not receive fair trial in US

The first witness James Troisi — previously a correctional officer at the Essex County Correctional Facility (ECCF) — told the court “it would be a very brief period of time before Naqvi’s status would be common knowledge."

"There are gangs and career criminals in every housing unit. Mr Naqvi will be seen as a man of means and there will be people that will want him to provide them with goods if he wants to eat," Troisi said.

Troisi also spoke about occasional collusion between certain guards and inmates. He told the court: “Officers have been terminated and criminally prosecuted for bringing contraband for gang members. Officers’ families have been threatened by gang members.”

One officer was stated to have been federally prosecuted for racketeering because he was operating a drug ring inside the prison with the assistance of a gang member.

Troisi also noted that assaults on prison staff are up to 80% year on year. 

When asked about assaults on inmates by prison staff, he commented: “I don’t have the figures, but the figures tell me if assaults on staff are up, assaults on prisoners are up.”

Read more: Arif Naqvi’s lawyers tells court UK appropriate place for trial, not US

The witness told the court that violence regularly occurs between prisoners and the reaction of the guards to [such] incidents is mostly slow “sometimes like a deer in headlights, with all too slow reactions — and sometimes, that is intentional”.

The witness said his knowledge was up to date and stated that he continues to frequent the ECCF and has “almost daily contact” with other correctional officers who still work there.

When Troisi began to dispel evidence provided by the US government’s witnesses, the US barrister, Mark Summers QC, uttered words to the effect of calling him just a “guard”.

Troisi rebutted by pronouncing his credentials and demonstrating relevant experience and knowledge.

Discrediting the US government's statements, he said: “The US lawyer is quoting policy. What she says is in line with the policy. But it is not in line with the practice. As someone who was part of writing the policies, I do not agree that this is how it actually happens.”

When asked about the warden and director’s reports, he said: “I believe that they are putting a rosy spin on this. I don’t believe they’re directly lying to the court but I believe their jobs depend on them putting the facility in a rosy light and it’s just simply not the case.”

Further evidence was also given by Joshua Dratel, a respected US lawyer, on the reliability of the US assurance, casting doubts on its veracity and validity. 

He claimed that he had every reason to believe that despite being assured, Naqvi would be at the ECCF when brought to the US.

Since Jeffery Epstein’s suicide at the Metropolitan Correctional Centre (MCC), the prison has been under scrutiny and has been found to have extremely inhumane conditions which have been subject to the exploration of Article 3 of human rights arguments.

The lawyer was also asked if he had the experience or reason to believe that if extradited, the US Marshall service may ignore or go against the assurance given to the UK court. In response, Dratel said: “Yes”, further stating “she [US Marshall] is not talking about what is going to happen in 18 months; she is talking about when he is extradited. And once that happens, British courts will have no ability to enforce anything, once he is in the US. This assurance does not reflect what will happen down the road.”

Final written submissions are due from both sides by January 8, with an initial judgment from the Chief Magistrate by the end of January.

Who is Arif Naqvi?

Originally from Karachi, businessman Naqvi has argued before the extradition judge at the Westminster Magistrates’ that the USA should not be allowed to extradite him for trial in relation to the collapse of the Abraaj Group.

Naqvi was arrested in London in April 2019 on the request of US. He faces allegations of money-laundering, racketeering and fraud. The Pakistani national faces close to 300 years in jail on 16 counts if extradited to the US.