A US federal appeals court has turned down a request by Maze escaper, Jimmy Smyth, to put a court order permitting his extradition to Britain on hold.
Smyth wanted a stay on the order to give him time to appeal earlier court decisions granting the extradition and appeal for political asylum in the US. Yesterday's decision is to be appealed to the US Supreme Court. Smyth who escaped from the Maze prison in 1983 was convicted of the attempted murder of an off-duty prison guard in Belfast. He says he is innocent of the attempted murder.
