Niels Holck, now 62 years old, was part of a group that in December 1995 flew an old Soviet transport plane over West Bengal and dropped around five tons of weapons and ammunition with parachutes to arm a group in conflict with the then-communist state government.
The group was then forced to land in India, and Holck's companions - five Latvians and a Briton - were sentenced to life imprisonment in India. The Dane somehow managed to escape and made his way back to Denmark, where he became the subject of an international arrest warrant.
India first tried to have Niels Holck extradited in a diplomatically sensitive process where the Justice Department in Copenhagen said yes, but the Danish judiciary said no. In 2010 and 2011, the extradition was stopped in two court instances, citing the risk of torture or degrading treatment in India.
India's new attempt began in 2016, and the country has offered Denmark several guarantees, including that Holck would be held in a special prison and could be accompanied by Danish police. But the court in Hillerød says no, just like it did last time. The court assesses that the risks still exist, including reference to the fact that India has not ratified the UN Convention against Torture.
The verdict can also be appealed to the corresponding high court this time.
