The health of a rape suspect accused of faking his own death is not likely to be a “barrier” for extradition to the US, a court has heard.
American authorities want Nicholas Rossi removed from Scotland to face sex charges in Utah.
Dr Kunal Chowdhary assessed him in an Edinburgh prison via video link in May.
The psychiatrist said he did not find “any evidence” of acute mental illness – but when asked by the defence, he agreed Rossi’s personality was “likely disordered”.
Prosecutors later pointed out that Dr Chowdhary had not officially made any diagnosis of a personality disorder as that would require various medical opinions.
The 35-year-old continues to insist he is not the man that US law enforcement agencies are looking for.
Despite a sheriff previously ruling he is Nicholas Rossi, the person in the dock insists he is Arthur Knight, an Irish orphan who has never set foot in America. He has used various aliases over the years.
The full extradition hearing at Edinburgh Sheriff Court also heard Rossi visited a private psychiatrist in Bristol in October 2020, who said his symptoms “almost defy diagnosis”.
Halfway through the day’s proceedings, Rossi’s lawyers attempted to shut out the press and public from reporting on the case.
His defence team said the ongoing press coverage created “a risk of malevolence”.
Sheriff Norman McFadyen rejected the exclusion of the media from court – saying it was a “power exercised rarely and cautiously”.
He added that he was “not satisfied” it was appropriate in this case.
Rossi was arrested and detained in December 2021 while being treated for COVID-19 at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow – following an international manhunt.
He previously suggested that his body had been tattooed by a rogue NHS employee while he was unconscious – attempting to create doubt that his body art was an identical match to what was seen on a law enforcement red notice.
The claims were branded “implausible and scandalous” by a sheriff at a previous hearing in November 2022.
The extradition case in Edinburgh continues.
Source: 
news.sky.com
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