East Lothian man Conor Howard 'free to go' after court hearing about extradition to Qatar over 'joke' £10 cannabis grinder - reports

An East Lothian man facing the possibility of being extradited to Qatar over a £10 cannabis grinder that he bought as a joke last year has been told he can return home, it has been reported.

Conor Howard is expected to learn today whether he will face extradition to Qatar.

Conor Howard was detained by authorities in Qatar last October during a stopover flight between Australia and the UK after they found the piece of drugs paraphernalia in his luggage that he wanted to bring home for a pal after a year-long trip working Down Under.

The item was confiscated and he was allowed to return home at the time. But in August while attempting to visit his mum and stepdad in Corfu, Greek authorities were notified of an outstanding international arrest warrant in his name issued by Qatar over allegations of possession of drugs.

Mr Howard, 27, from Tranent, was initially held in a Greek prison and was later released on bail but not allowed to leave the country.

But after a court hearing today, stepdad Robert Young told the Daily Record he had been given permission to return to the UK.

And the newspaper reports that, while Conor still faces possible extradition to Qatar, his family are confident the hardest part is done and that a deal can be worked out by the UK.

The hope is that they can get back to the UK by Saturday.

Radha Stirling, of campaign group Detained in Dubai, said previously that Mr Howard’s human rights would be violated in the event of his extradition and says Greece should consider that they have a duty of care to protect him.

During a video call with Conor earlier this week, Ms Stirling said: “They should really only trust it (Interpol) for allies who have a strong legal system and strong human rights record.

“Greece should be looking to think about what they can do in the future to safeguard against arrest from countries who might have a dubious human rights record.”

During the video call, Conor said he would not have been out of prison in Greece if it were not for his family helping him to get bail.