UK Prison Service Reveals 125 Foreign Nationals Serving Life Were Sent Back to Home Countries

Some of the 11 sent back to Albania could be released early, says journalist

An undated image of Justice Secretary Dominic Raab with a prison officer at the opening of category C prison HMP Five Wells in Wellingborough, England. Joe Giddens/PA

One in four foreign nationals who were given life sentences in England and Wales between 2011 and 2019 were sent back to serve their sentences in their home countries.

The Prison Service has revealed, following a Freedom of Information Act request from The Epoch Times (pdf), that 435 foreign nationals were given life sentences between 2011 and 2019, all but seven of which were for murder.

The Prison Service—which is part of the Ministry of Justice—said 125 foreign nationals serving a life sentence for murder or terrorism offences were sent back to their home countries under an agreement with the British government.

Of those 11 were Albanian nationals who were sent home as part of an agreement with the government in Tirana which has been in operation for several years.

Lifer Sent Back to Albania Was Released and Murdered

But The Epoch Times can reveal that at least one Albanian national was released early from jail after being repatriated, only to himself be murdered.

In 2006, Hekuran Billa shot dead a fellow Albanian, Prel Marku, at a social club in Park Royal, west London.

Undated image of Hekuran Billa, who was convicted in 2008 of a murder in London, then sent back to Albania, released from prison early, and murdered. Metropolitan Police

He fled to Denmark but was extradited and in 2008 he was convicted and jailed for life with the judge stipulating he should serve at least 34 years in prison, meaning he was not eligible for release until 2042.

Billa was sent back to Albania to serve the rest of his sentence, but in February 2019 he was released by a judge.

The following year Billa, by then 40, was shot dead at the office of his car rental business in Tirana, Albania.

Two men have been charged with his murder, Viktor Marku—whose brother Prel was murdered by Billa—and Sebastian Mali, who is also understood to be a relative of Prel Marku.

The Albanian Daily News reported that Billa was allegedly lured to his death in a “honey trap” by Adiola Lakra, 26, who befriended him on Instagram.

Muhamed Veliu, a political correspondent with Top Channel in Albania, said he was surprised more of the estimated 1,500 Albanians in British prisons had not opted to be transferred home.

Veliu told The Epoch Times: “The agreement doesn’t force an Albanian in the UK prisons to be sent back home, only if they apply for it. It is totally up to them.”

He said, “Hekuran Billa’s case demonstrates how strong is the blood feud in Albania, and the desire for revenge.”

Veliu said: “It’s hard to say what will happen with the 11 Albanians who were sent back home to serve prison sentences given in the UK courts. The Ministry of Justice should make their names public so they can be monitored in case they ask for their sentence to be reduced or are let free by corrupt judges, like happened in the Billa case.”

The 1984 Repatriation of Prisoners Act allowed for inmates in British prisons to be sent back to their home country and also for British nationals abroad to be returned to the UK to serve out their sentences.

Under the act the UK has to sign a separate Prisoner Transfer Agreement (PTA) with each country’s government.

In 2007 Hansard listed all the countries which Britain had a PTA with and it included Albania, Brazil, Canada, Cuba, Egypt, Israel, Mexico, Nicaragua, Thailand, Ukraine, Hong Kong, and the United States.

The most notable omissions on the list were Russia, Iran, and China.

Saudi Arabian Prince Sent Home After Being Jailed for Murder

Also absent at that time was Saudi Arabia.

In October 2010, Prince Abdulaziz bin Nasser al Saud, the grandson of Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah, was convicted of murdering his manservant at the Landmark Hotel in central London and jailed for a minimum of 20 years.

But a PTA was negotiated in 2011 between Britain and Saudi Arabia and in 2013 Saud was repatriated, on the basis he would serve the rest of his sentence in the desert kingdom.

In an email to The Epoch Times, a Ministry of Justice spokesman said: “We are absolutely committed to removing Foreign National Offenders who have no right to remain in the United Kingdom. We will continue to work closely with international governments to increase the number of prisoners deported.”