**The European Court of Human Rights is to consider later whether an England football fan should be extradited to Portugal to serve a prison sentence.**Garry Mann, of Faversham, Kent, was given a two-year term for his role in a riot in Albufeira during Euro 2004.
Portugal is seeking extradition under a fast-track European Arrest Warrant, because he was not made to serve his sentence in the UK after deportation.
His lawyers claim he had an unfair trial under a fast-track procedure.
Trial ‘farce’
Mann was tried and found guilty of taking part in the disturbance less than 48 hours after his arrest.
A British police officer present in court described the trial as “a farce”.
David Blunkett, who as home secretary introduced the warrant system, thinks it should be open to review in some cases.
He said: “There has to be proportionality. Where there are glitches in this and where the are examples where time has passed substantially then there ought to be a review of that.”
Seven judges at the European Court of Human Rights are expected to decide whether the extradition should go ahead.
Justice ‘deprived’
Last month Mann lost the latest stage of his fight to avoid extradition when Appeal Court judge Lord Justice Moses said the High Court had no jurisdiction to intervene.
Lord Justice Moses, sitting with Mr Justice Hickinbottom, said the apparent injustice did not stem from what Mann believed was an unfair and unlawful hearing.
The judge said he had been deprived of proper legal assistance “by two sets of lawyers in two separate jurisdictions on two distinct occasions”.
Lord Justice Moses said he hoped the European Court of Human Rights would intervene or diplomatic authorities in the UK or Portugal could “strive to achieve some measure of justice for Mr Mann, a justice of which he has been so signally deprived by those on whom he had previously relied”.
Mann’s case has been supported by human rights group Fair Trials International.