Laura and Graham Mitchell

by Lauren Fruen

An extradition order for a Canterbury man wanted in Portugal for a crime he was cleared of in 1995 has been dropped.

Graham Mitchell, 49, was arrested by British police at his home in St Martin's Road earlier this year after Portuguese authorities issued a European Arrest Warrant for a retrial of an attempted murder charge he had been cleared of 17 years earlier.

Portuguese police have now removed their extradition request for the photographer due to the amount of time that has passed.

Graham, who lives with his wife Laura in the city, said: “I am thrilled that the criminal charges against me are now extinct.

“Events since March 6 have brought back many unpleasant memories and my health has suffered as a result.

“My family and I have been through hell. I’d like to thank my legal team, family, friends and colleagues – the support I have received has made the whole episode slightly more bearable.”

Mr Mitchell's nightmare began when he and his friend Warren Tozer went on a fishing holiday to Albufeira, in the Algarve, in May 1994.

He and Mr Tozer were then arrested for an alleged assault on a 26-year-old German tourist called Andre Jorling, who was injured after falling off a wall and paralysed from the waist down.

The pair spent more than a year in custody until they were cleared at trial of attempting to murder Mr Jorling.