Lawyers representing alleged Hollywood con queen Hargobind Tehalramani have laid out the strategy they intend to pursue to block an extradition request by the United States Department of Justice. An extradition hearing is currently underway at London’s Western Magistrates Court.
In a 42-page document filed in a London court on Tuesday, Tehilramani’s team argued that poor conditions in US prisons, their client’s unstable mental state and the location where his crimes allegedly took place. – in this case Britain – are the deciding factors. The weight should be in favor of Tahir Ramani. Furthermore, they argued that if Tahilramani were to be extradited to the United States, he would eventually be deported back to his home country of Indonesia, where he would face unnecessary persecution.
“Prison conditions in the United States are such that extradition would present a real risk of violating Mr. (Tahilramani’s) right not to be subjected to inhuman and degrading treatment,” the document said.
Tehalramani was arrested by authorities in the northern UK city of Manchester in late November 2020 and has since been on trial at HM Prison Wandsworth in London. He is accused of impersonating several famous Hollywood women, including producers Amy Pascal, Kathleen Kennedy and Victoria Alonso, to lure unwitting victims to Indonesia, where he allegedly extorted money from them. the wallet
Tehilramani became the subject of a lengthy FBI investigation that quickly escalated The Hollywood Reporter First wrote about this scam in the summer of 2018.
Two years later, in the fall of 2020, a United States grand jury indicted Tehilramani on eight federal charges, ranging from conspiracy to commit wire fraud to felony identity theft.
Now Tehilramani’s lawyers are arguing that sending him to the US is a violation of his human rights.
Tehalramani’s defense lawyers will argue that because his alleged crimes took place while he was in the UK, extradition to the US is inappropriate.
Presenting their case, the lawyers outlined a brief history of their client’s life before he arrived in the UK in 2016. They allege that Tehilramani was mistreated in various medical and quasi-religious institutions in Indonesia, where they claim to be. , he was subjected to gay talk therapy. She also alleges that she was sexually abused by a Christian priest while in one of these institutions.
According to the document, several mental health clinicians who interviewed Tahilramani after his arrest in 2020 determined that he suffered from some form of “personality disorder,” though they disagreed. . According to the legal document, a therapist indicated that since his incarceration in Britain, Tahirramani had been “hearing voices and believing he had been microchipped”.
Some possible theories about his mental state included a “hypomanic disposition”, a “histrionic” personality disorder and an “adjustment” disorder. Two psychiatrists determined that he might qualify for a diagnosis somewhere on the bipolar disorder spectrum. But another psychologist noted that Tehilramani’s personality disorder was clearly marked by “psychotic traits.”
The bulk of the defense brief outlines the argument that the U.S. prison system would subject Tehlramani to unnecessarily harsh conditions for his homosexuality, and that these conditions would result in his would exacerbate existing suicidal tendencies, creating a “substantial risk”. to a doctor, that he would eventually commit suicide.
The extradition process began late last week and will continue until Thursday. The hearings feature expert testimony from a panel of witnesses, including an American academic familiar with the US Bureau of Prisons, a former FBI official and an American expert on sentencing guidelines. Lawyers are involved, which will eventually be implemented in the form of Tahir Ramani’s extradition.
Tehalramani testified on his own behalf in the early days, describing a fraught childhood, a bitter relationship with his two sisters, and his identity as a gay man, which he claimed was He became a victim of attacks and persecution in Indonesia. At one point during his testimony, he broke down in tears, needing to stop the procedure.
The document also revealed several crimes committed by Tahilramani while living in Indonesia. These included embezzlement and bomb threats to the US embassy. He was convicted on all counts and spent nearly four years in Cipinang, a large Indonesian penitentiary on the outskirts of Jakarta.
Appearing via video conference, Tehilramani remained largely unmoved in this week’s proceedings. Dressed in a crisp light blue shirt and yellow gel pants and looking trim and in good health, Tahirramani took notes and listened intently.
A judge is expected to rule on the case before the end of the year. Tehilramani will have the right to appeal.