Cyprus death pair face further wait

TWO cousins who face three years in a Cypriot jail were told that they must endure a further wait before they learn if they will be extradited to the country.

TWO cousins who face prison in a Cypriot jail were told that they must endure a further wait before they learn if they will be extradited to the country.

Luke Atkinson and Michael Binnington were hoping to discover today if their fight against extradition had been won when they appeared at the City of Westminster Magistrates Court in London.

But the case was adjourned until January 26 after legal discussions surrounding the admission of a new piece of evidence.

The pair, from Witham, were passengers in a car passengers in a car driven by Atkinson's uncle, Julian Harrington, in Protaras, Cyprus, in August 2006, when it hit a moped.

The bike's pillion passenger, Christof Papiris, 17, was knocked off and killed, while the rider was seriously injured.

Harrington, also from Witham, had pursued the moped after a brawl outside a nightclub. He is currently serving a 15-year-jail term in Cyprus after admitting manslaughter and causing grievous bodily harm.

But Atkinson, 24, and Binnington, 23, have argued that they were only involved unwittingly as drunken passengers.

They were acquitted by a Cypriot court in February 2007, but this was overturned in January the following year by a higher court.

The pair were sentenced to three years in prison and European arrest warrants were later issued to return them to the island.