London: Foreign Minister of Cambodia Hor Namhong has said that it will not extradite a French architect who shared links with disgraced Chinese politician Bo Xilai, pending further investigation.
Patrick Devillers, 52, who reportedly had close ties to Bo and his wife, Gu Kailai, a suspect in the death of British businessman Neil Heywood, is not being sent to China or France after he was arrested on June 13th on the request of the Chinese Government.
Cambodian officials said they needed more evidence before they could consider Devillers' extradition. It is currently unclear where he is being held.
“The decision has been made. We have decided to keep him here, we are not sending (him) anywhere. We won't send him to either France or China,” the BBC quoted Hor Namhong, as saying.
Cambodian officials had previously claimed that they were considering whether to send Devillers, who has been living in the country for the past five years, to China or France.
Bo, the former high-flying leader of the south-western Chinese megacity of Chongqing, was sacked in March and is under investigation for flouting Communist Party discipline in China.
ANI
First Published: Saturday, June 23, 2012, 18:28