A Lithuanian gangster accused of two murders in his home country has cost taxpayers hundreds of thousands of pounds in a deportation farce after claiming he was too depressed to leave Britain. Kestutis Martuzevicius repeatedly stalled efforts to extradite him, claiming they breached his human rights. The 52-year-old, who is wanted for 22 crimes in Lithuania, spun out the legal battle for nearly five years by insisting he was mentally ill, leaving the British public to foot the bill. Depression claim: In January last year, Kestutis Martuzevicius was admitted to Broadmoor on health grounds but by June his condition had improved and he was returned to Belmarsh Prison (above) Yesterday judges at the European Court of Human Rights criticised his ‘manifestly ill-founded’ case and ruled the alleged killer should be put on a plane home. In Lithuania he is accused of 22 crimes including two murders, robbery and extortion between 1993 and 1997, when he was a member of the feared Daktarai gang. The ruling brought to an end a saga that began when a warrant for his arrest was issued by Lithuanian police in June 2010. His case has cost British taxpayers a six-figure sum, according to legal experts. This figure includes the cost of police time, legal fees racked up by challenging his claims in the courts, the £40,000 a year price of keeping him in the Category A prison Belmarsh, and treating him at Broadmoor high-security psychiatric hospital. His case reignited the row over the ease with which alleged foreign criminals could exploit human rights laws. Michael Ellis, a former Tory MP, said: ‘This is a shocking example of Labour’s Human Rights Act putting the rights of suspected foreign criminals ahead of the rights of the British public.’ Waste of time: Judge Guido Raimondi (above), of the European Court of Human Rights, said: 'The court considers that this complaint is manifestly ill-founded and must be rejected' Martuzevicius came to the UK in 1996. It is thought he claimed asylum. He was arrested in London in June 2011 under a European Arrest Warrant. Magistrates agreed to his extradition in October of that year and he was held in Belmarsh prior to being sent home. But he appealed to the High Court on the grounds he was depressed and would face reprisals by criminals in his homeland if he returned. He claimed this violated Article 2, the right to life, and Article 3, the right to avoid inhumane or degrading treatment or punishment. British judges ruled his extradition would not be unjust because he could expect a fair trial and the authorities would protect him from retaliation. But Martuzevicius then launched a new appeal with the European Court of Human Rights. According to court documents, in 2012 he was diagnosed as mentally ill, with a psychiatric report saying he was seriously depressed, suffering from a delusional disorder, and that there was a risk of suicide. In January last year, he was admitted to Broadmoor but by June his condition had improved and he was returned to Belmarsh. He appealed to Strasbourg under Article 3 and Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which guarantees the right to a fair trial, because he had not been allowed to argue his ill-health during extradition proceedings. But in a written ruling, the European judges, led by court president Guido Raimondi, said Martuzevicius’s claim that extradition breached his human rights was ‘inadmissible’. They added: ‘The court considers this complaint is manifestly ill-founded and must be rejected.’
Gangster Kestutis Martuzevicius accused of two murders in home country .
Has repeatedly stalled efforts to extradite him claiming he is too depressed .
Numerous appeals have cost taxpayers hundreds of thousands of pounds .
The case reignited row over foreign criminals exploiting human rights law .