DRAFT LETTER FROM PRIME MINISTER TO DR MAHATHIR
I promised, when we met on 19 December 1990, to look into the
question whether Lorrain Osman, if convicted of the offences
on the basis of which his extradition is sought by the Government of Hong Kong, might serve any prison sentence in a Malaysian or even British jail. You later wrote to me to ask whether he might be returned to Pentonville or some other prison from Brixton where he is now detained.
On the first point, I understand that there are no existing arrangements under which it would be possible for Mr Osman, if convicted, to serve any sentence imposed in Hong Kong in Malaysia. The question of what arrangements might be made to facilitate such a transfer is a matter which your law officers may wish to explore with the legal authorities in Hong Kong. Transfers to prisons in this country are normally restricted to British citizens, although the Home Secretary has discretion to extend the arrangement to other people if he believes it would be appropriate to do so because of their close ties with the United Kingdom. Transfers do of course require the consent of both Governments and the prisoner concerned.
Mr Osman's main argument for not wishing to serve any sentence in Hong Kong seems to be his fear that he could be transferred to mainland China if he was still in prison after 1997, when Hong Kong reverts to the People's Republic of China, or that the FRC would retrospectively increase his sentence or add further charges after 1997. In case a prison transfer to Malaysia may prove impossible to arrange, you might find the following information helpful.
If convicted, and if Mr Osman's prison term should extendTM beyond 1 July 1997, his position would be protected by binding legal obligations undertaken by China in the Sino-British Joint Declaration in relation to the position and status of Hong Kong after China resumes sovereignty over the territory. Those obligations provide for a high degree of autonomy and in