A TRANENT man could yet face extradition to Qatar over a cannabis grinder he bought as a joke more than a year ago, according to a lawyer.

Conor Howard was arrested while visiting his mum and stepdad in Corfu last month.

He discovered that there was an international arrest warrant out for him, which related to him being stopped in Qatar on his way home from Australia last year.

At that time, a cannabis grinder was found in his luggage.

Former Ross High School pupil Conor thought that everything had been dealt with after leaving the Gulf state and it was only when travelling to the Greek island that he became aware of the arrest warrant.

He is due to return to court in Greece next week to find out if he will face going back to Qatar.

Radha Stirling, of campaign group Detained in Dubai, said: “The family have been told to expect Conor’s extradition as Greece solidifies diplomatic ties and is more likely to comply with requests, even if compliance violates human rights.

“Qatar is one of Interpol’s biggest abusers, misusing the system as a means to harass, extort or punish foreign nationals.

“Extradition proceedings are initiated by Qatar, not because there is any genuine expectation of success but for other, more sinister, reasons.

“Given the number of frivolous Interpol red notices issued by Qatar, Interpol should already have suspended the nation’s membership and Greece should never have been put in the awkward position of unfairly detaining and prosecuting a British national at their own cost, on behalf of a wealthy Gulf state.”

Conor was released from jail by Greek judges last month, weeks after he arrived on the island.

However, he is not allowed to leave the country, with friends and family back in Scotland raising funds to help Conor, his mum and stepdad.

Ms Stirling added: “I have put the Greek courts on notice that I will be giving expert testimony to show Mr Howard’s human rights would be violated in the event of his extradition and Greece has an obligation and a duty of care to protect Conor Howard.

“Although Conor has been finally granted bail, Greece has allowed Qatar until November 4 to present further evidence, meaning Conor is not allowed to return to Scotland and still risks being extradited to a desert prison.”

To support Conor, go to www.gofundme.com/f/free-conor-howard