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Times
2 hours ago
- Politics
- Times
Rapist and murder suspect block extradition with ECHR claims
Two fugitives wanted for murder and child rape in Brazil have successfully used Britain's human rights laws to avoid extradition. Marlon Martins Dos Santos and Nicolas Gomes De Brito have both successfully fought extradition to Brazil after claiming it would breach their rights under Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), which protects against torture and inhuman treatment. Dos Santos was sentenced to 14 years in jail in Brazil for repeatedly raping a five year-old girl but by then he had already fled to the UK. A British judge refused Brazil's extradition request on the basis that it would violate his Article 3 rights. In April he was convicted of possessing and distributing more than 1,000 images of child abuse, including the most serious category. Dos Santos and De Brito are among hundreds of alleged criminals who have avoided extradition to Brazil since 2010. An undercover investigation by ITV News has found evidence suggesting that some fugitives may be misleading judges in order to use the ECHR to stay in the UK. The revelations come as a government review of the UK's application of the ECHR is set to be widened to include Article 3 having previously been confined to Article 8, which protects the right to a family life. Writing in The Times, two Labour MPs said the findings showed why it was 'increasingly clear' that the ECHR needed to be reformed. Jake Richards, the MP for Rother Valley, and Dan Tomlinson, the MP for Chipping Barnet, said it was 'unacceptable to the British people' that individuals like Dos Santos and De Brito were allowed to remain in the UK. In a significant intervention, they called on the government to change the law to allow the home secretary to have the final say over the deportation of such individuals who pose a threat to public safety. Dos Santos is wanted by Brazilian authorities after being convicted of repeatedly raping a five year-old girl but fled to the UK before being sentenced. He had previously been convicted of killing a man in Brazil. A second man named Nicolas Gomes De Brito is wanted by the Brazilian authorities for allegedly ordering the murder of a rival gang member. He fled to the UK in 2019 and appeared on Interpol's most-wanted list. • How does the ECHR work and what would reform mean? Brazil requested his extradition in 2022 and he was arrested by British police but he successfully fought his deportation by arguing that it would breach his rights under the ECHR because he would be abused in Brazilian prisons. Among the arguments he made was his claim to have been gay and married to a man, but ITV News filmed him telling an undercover reporter that he had a wife and son who lived with him in the UK. The judge ultimately ruled that he could remain in the UK due to broader concerns about his treatment in prison unrelated to his sexuality and based on concerns that his rights under Article 3 would be violated. De Brito now runs his own motorcycle garage in London, where the undercover reporter met him under the guise of discussing a job in security. In the footage, De Brito spoke openly about a friend being shot and paralysed, a story that matches details of the shooting that Brazilian police say motivated the alleged revenge murder that he is wanted for. He told the undercover reporter: 'They came for both of us,' he said. 'I was so angry when this happened. I wanted to take the guy, 100 per cent.' De Brito also said he had pre-settled status in the UK and showed the reporter his visa documentation supposedly allowing him to work in any job. Rodrigo Cavassoni, the lead investigator on the Brazilian police's case to extradite De Brito, said he poses a threat in Britain. He said: 'Nicolas's extradition is important so he can defend himself against these charges and go before a jury. After the heinous crime, he needs to be tried by Brazilian authorities.' • ECHR 'must adapt to face growing backlash against migration' Of the 306 alleged criminals that Brazil has requested to be extradited from the UK since 2009, only four have been arrested. Jim Gamble, the former head of the National Crime Agency's Child Exploitation and Online Protection Command, said the two cases should act as a 'wake-up call' for the UK to reform the ECHR. He said: 'I would rather he was back in crowded prison conditions in Brazil than active in the communities in the UK, where he represents a real risk of harm to our children, in fact, that risk manifests itself in him going on to commit a further offence. This is a fundamental flaw that the government and others need to respond to with a sense of urgency.'
ITV News
13 hours ago
- ITV News
Fugitives wanted for murder and child rape given right to live in Britain
Fugitives wanted for murder and child rape are being allowed to stay in Britain under human rights law. An ITV News investigation has revealed that British courts are refusing their extradition to countries such as Brazil due to claims that they would be mistreated in foreign prisons. Our undercover filming has also revealed that fugitives may be lying to judges in order to make a claim under the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). It comes as a fierce political debate rages in the UK about whether Britain should withdraw from the ECHR or reinterpret its application. Among those wanted by Brazilian authorities is a man convicted of repeatedly raping a five year-old girl. Marlon Martins Dos Santos has committed further crimes against children while being allowed to remain in the UK. Brazilian authorities also wish to extradite Nicolas Gomes De Brito, who fled to the UK in 2019 after allegedly ordering the murder of a rival gang member in Brazil. When ITV News confronted De Brito on camera, he claimed he didn't know what we were talking about. Over the course of six months, ITV News has investigated both cases. In the case of De Brito, a police file we've obtained claims that phone records and sightings of his car link him to the scene of the alleged murder, which earned him a place on Interpol's most-wanted list. De Brito now runs his own motorcycle garage in London, where our undercover reporters met him under the guise of discussing a job in security. During the course of several meetings, De Brito volunteered details which allude to a history with guns and violence in Brazil. 'Brazil is a beautiful place', he told them, 'but there's too much danger'. Asked if he'd carried a gun back home, he replied 'Yeah, yeah, yeah.' 'We had some problems with people in the area, someone was challenging us,' he explained. 'They tried to do something to us, to attack us, so we had to attack them back. This situation happened many times.' At one meeting, De Brito even talked about a friend being shot and paralysed. His story matches details of the shooting that Brazilian police say motivated the alleged revenge murder he is wanted for. 'They came for both of us', he said. 'I was so angry when this happened. I wanted to take the guy, 100%.' When Brazil requested De Brito's extradition in 2022 he was arrested by British police, but successfully argued that his human rights would be infringed if he was sent back to Brazil. Among the arguments that he put to a British judge was his claim to have been gay and married to a man, arguing that he would be treated especially harshly in Brazilian prisons due to his sexuality. However, when ITV News filmed with De Brito he told our undercover reporters that he had a wife and son who lived with him in the UK, raising doubts about his claims in court. In the end, a judge decided that he could stay in Britain due to broader concerns about his treatment in prison unrelated to his sexuality – namely that his rights under Article 3 of the ECHR could be violated. This article prohibits torture, inhumane or degrading treatment and punishment. ITV News was given rare access to a prison in the state of Parana, where inmates were kept up to six per cell. They were offered work and education, with the conditions appearing to be calm. However, there are well-documented cases of overcrowding, violence and murders in other Brazilian prisons. Unable to be extradited, De Brito now has pre-settled status in the UK and showed our undercover reporters his Home Office documentation, stating that he is free to work in any job, with no mention of the accusations against him in Brazil. When ITV News confronted De Brito at his motorcycle garage and asked why he wasn't in Brazil preparing to stand trial, he replied 'What are you talking about?' He was accompanied by a woman in the front seat of his van, but declined to say whether or not she was his wife. Asked whether he had ordered the alleged revenge killing, De Brito drove off without providing any further answers and did not respond to ITV News when invited to in writing. The lead investigator on his case in Brazil, Rodrigo Cavassoni, told us he believes De Brito poses a threat in Britain. 'Nicolas's extradition is important so he can defend himself against these charges and go before a jury. After the heinous crime, he needs to be tried by Brazilian authorities.' Since 2009/10, Brazil has requested the extradition of 306 alleged criminals, but British authorities have only made four arrests. ITV News has also uncovered the case of a fugitive who was convicted of child rape in Brazil before fleeing to the UK, only to reoffend in London while wanted for his crimes back home. In 2005, Marlon Martins Dos Santos was convicted of killing a man in Brazil, before being sentenced in 2015 to a further 14 years for repeatedly raping a five-year-old girl. But by then, he had fled to the UK, where a judge again refused Brazil's extradition request under Article 3 of the ECHR. Following the ruling, Dos Santos offended again, this time in Britain. In April he was convicted of possessing and distributing more than a thousand images of child abuse – including the most serious category. The former head of the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Command Jim Gamble told us our investigation raised serious questions. "We really do need this to be a wake up call" he told us. "What we're saying through the work that you have done is that here is that an individual with a conviction for murder, who is convicted for child abuse offences - rape. "Yet notwithstanding that evidence of his bad character, someone within the system in the UK has said it's okay for him to stay, it's okay for him to operate within a community that have no idea about the risk he represents." "I would rather he was back in crowded prison conditions in Brazil than active in the communities in the UK, where he represents a real risk of harm to our children. "This is a fundamental flaw that the government and others need to respond to with a sense of urgency." Our investigation comes shortly after the government announced a review of the way judges are applying human rights law in such cases. The immigration white paper, announced last month, promised a reassessment of Article 8, which protects family life. It is expected to look at whether judges should interpret the law more narrowly, taking greater account of the public interest. A Home Office spokesperson said: 'Foreign nationals who commit crime should be in no doubt that we will do everything to make sure they are not free to roam Britain's streets, including removing them from the UK at the earliest possible opportunity. 'Since the election we've removed 4,436 foreign criminals, a 14% increase on the same period 12 months prior.'Extradition is a largely judicial process and it is for the courts to decide on matters related to Human Rights.'
