Our boy’s hell stuck in Greek jail on drug rap
Mum’s fears as he is traced via international arrest warrant
A SCOTS mum is fighting to prevent her son being extradited from Greece to the Middle East to face drugs charges.
Adele Young said Conor Howard is being held in a jail in Corfu after being tracked down last weekend via an international arrest warrant.
The 27-year-old’s case is linked to his arrest in Qatar on October 17 last year as he made his way back to the UK after living and working in Australia.
Officials at Qatar’s airport caught him with a cannabis grinder but Adele says he appeared in court in the country’s capital of Doha the next day and was told he wasn’t guilty of any wrongdoing and was “free to go”.
His family, from Tranent in East Lothian, believed the October incident was the end of the matter but they were shocked when he was arrested in Greece last weekend while
visiting his mum there. They have launched a legal fight to keep Conor in Greece.
Adele said: “You just never, ever expect something like this to happen. It is so shocking and worrying.
“Conor told us that he had been taken to court after the airport and found not guilty. He said they drug-tested him and he was clean.
“The judge then said, ‘Go back to the airport and go home’.”
Adele fears he is facing a year in jail in Qatar if sent there by the Greek authorities.
Papers seen by the Record show a form of international arrest warrant called an Interpol “red notice”, stating that Conor is a “fugitive”, was issued in July.
The documents show that the young engineer was charged on October 18, 2019, after being found in possession of “narcotic substance Indian hemp”.
They go on to state that Conor was convicted and sent enced on January 26, 2020, but did not appear in court on that date.
The pape r s further state that extradition back to Qatar will be sought upon his arrest.
Adele, 53, and Conor’s stepdad Robert, 55, say they have already spent thousands on lawyers as they await a council of Greek judges’ decision on whether to extradite their son to Qatar. Adele said:
“We are hoping to speak to the prosecutor and see what can be done.
“We have hardly heard from him since he was taken away. It has been a nightmare. We just need to get him home safe.”
De s c r i b i n g Conor as a “popular, funloving boy”, she added: “I know he is struggling in prison and there have been tears.
“The whole s i tua t i o n is horrendous.
“He i s no troublemaker, that’s for sure. He lives his life and it’s crazy it has come to this.”
The worried parents have contacted the British Embassy in Greece but claim they been told there is little that can be done.
Human rights bodies have raised concerns about the treatment of prisoners in Middle East countries.
Back in Scotland, Conor’s friend Kyle Williams has launched a fundraising page to try to help the family pay for legal costs and a translator in the Middle East.
Generous well-wishers have already donated nearly £8000.
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said: “Our staff are in contact with a British man and his family following his arrest in Corfu, and are in touch with the Greek authorities.”
The Qatari government, Doha court and Interpol have been contacted for comment.
Conor told us the judge told him to go back to the airport and go home ADELE YOUNG ON HER SON’S ORDEAL