'I'm suing Spain after my new life abroad became a nightmare'

A antheral is seeking compensation aft his beingness overseas was turned upside down erstwhile helium was arrested doubly successful transportation to the execution of a Norwegian businessman.

Gary Owens, a guitarist from Bramhall, Stockport, Greater Manchester, has lived done a three-decade-long nightmare. His ordeal began successful the Canary Islands erstwhile equipped constabulary descended connected his spouse Jayne's Renault car. He was doubly arrested and held successful jail connected remand successful 1991 and 2008 connected suspicion of playing a portion successful the decease of a affluent Norwegian nine proprietor connected the Costa del Sol.

He claims helium endured a spell successful a "medieval" jailhouse successful Marbella erstwhile helium was locked up with heroin addicts earlier helium managed to interruption out. He spent a full of astir 3 years successful situation but is yet to beryllium charged with immoderate offence, the Manchester Evening News reports.

The M.E.N. reported successful 2017 that helium said helium had yet been told determination is nary lawsuit against him. Now, aft an ill-fated and torturous ineligible enactment done a multitude of Spanish courts, his lawyer is to taxable a lawsuit to the European Court of Human Rights successful Strasbourg adjacent month, seeking £4.6m successful compensation from the Spanish government.

The guitarist’s set - A II Z - made the UK dense metallic charts successful 1980 and played with supergroups similar Black Sabbath and Iron Maiden. It would beryllium his pursuit of stardom which yet led to his beingness spiralling into a nightmare that began playing successful pubs, schools, and clubs successful Stockport and took disconnected with a two-album grounds woody with Polydor.

The short-lived renaissance of dense stone successful Britain had waned by the clip Gary was surviving successful Spain successful 1991. But his awesome career, playing aboriginal for the set Tytan and past moving arsenic an adjunct circuit manager for Manchester-based Kennedy Street Enterprises, meant helium remained committed to the euphony manufacture and was hoping to grounds a solo medium - an ambition which legitimately brought him into interaction with a antheral who would beryllium murdered.

The ordeal began connected April 2, 1991, erstwhile a Spanish policeman tapped connected the model of Gary and his spouse Jayne’s Renault prosecute car successful Tenerife. Fifteen officers surrounded his conveyance extracurricular an flat successful Tenerife, helium claims, and arsenic helium coiled down the window, helium claims a shotgun was thrust done it - inches from his face.

Gary said: "We had conscionable got successful our car and determination was a pat connected the window, it was a feline with a shotgun. There were others each armed, we had a speedy (court) hearing, the consulate were there. Then we driven astatine precise precocious velocity to the airdrome connected a level backmost to Malaga.

"When we got determination they took everyone disconnected the plane, past we were escorted down the steps," helium claims. "At the process of the craft determination was a enactment of Guardia Civil, each with instrumentality guns. It was acceptable up similar that truthful they could instrumentality photos for the paper."

He had been arrested connected suspicion of murdering a Norwegian businessman Torbjorn Heta. The assemblage of Mr Heta, 33, the proprietor of a nightclub and signaling workplace successful Marbella, was recovered down a well.

"I saw the pictures. I had a tribunal proceeding wherever the justice asked maine my footwear size, I said six, she said retired loud, 'well it's not him' and they sent maine retired to beryllium extracurricular connected a chair," helium said. "They had forensic grounds that the idiosyncratic who murdered the feline wore size 8 to 9 shoes arsenic they near bloody footprints astatine the scene.

"I was penning songs, that's however I knew the dormant guy. He had a 24 way signaling workplace successful his basement. I was doing immoderate tiny gigs and hoping to grounds a solo album. But I did not request to gain wealth astatine that time."

Despite it all, Gary spent 30 months successful precocious information jails earlier being released connected bail successful October 1993, without charge. The M.E.N. was determination to witnesser his release. Twelve people, including Gary, were arrested successful transportation with the sidesplitting - but it remains unsolved.

Gary, present 62, a erstwhile Bramhall High School pupil, returned to the UK successful October 1995 aft being advised by officials successful the British Embassy successful Madrid to permission Spain. But successful 2008, portion surviving successful Poynton with Jayne, helium was issued with a European Arrest Warrant.

He fought extradition proceedings done the High Court, and Supreme Court, but mislaid and, successful November 2009, was flown backmost to Spain. Gary says helium was enactment connected 'the railroad' - moved from jailhouse to jailhouse passim the state - for respective weeks earlier being granted £5,000 bail successful February 2010.

He spent the adjacent six years connected bail earlier being told that nary enactment would beryllium taken against him. It took until December 2016 for him to get the £5,000 bail wealth back. He has called for a nationalist enquiry into wherefore helium was wrongfully imprisoned and aims to writer British and Spanish authorities.

He claims others attempted to acceptable him up for the murder, which helium believes was linked to a drugs-related woody which went wrong. For his ain information helium was fixed the sanction ‘Charles Axon’ portion held successful custody successful Spain, helium says.

Gary said: “I had met the antheral who was murdered arsenic helium owned a 24-track state-of-the creation signaling workplace successful the basement of his villa. I was being fixed the accidental of signaling a solo medium there.”

But astir a period earlier his archetypal arrest, Gary claims helium was warned astatine gunpoint by 3 men - who helium believes were the killers - to get retired of Sitio de Calahonda, a tiny municipality adjacent Marbella, successful the aftermath of Mr Heta’s murder. He believes British cause gangs were progressive successful the murder. Gary wrote to erstwhile premier minister, David Cameron, and past Labour person Jeremy Corbyn, and Foreign Office officials demanding an investigation.

He said: “For 25 years I person been accused of a transgression that determination was nary grounds for. I person ne'er been charged and I person been falsely imprisoned. My euphony vocation has been ruined and my businesses and household person suffered.

“We privation an probe astatine nationalist level successful the UK and Spain. I person been unjustly treated by the Spanish and British justness systems. We are claiming compensation from the Spanish strategy for mendacious imprisonment and quality rights breaches."

Speaking of his archetypal incarceration successful the 90s, helium added: "I lone got sent to the jailhouse successful Malaga due to the fact that I escaped from the archetypal jailhouse they enactment maine in, successful Marbella. They enactment maine successful with a load of gypsies who were jacking up smack. I don't instrumentality drugs, and I americium a consecutive guy. They were stealing my apparel and threatening maine with knives. I complained to the British Consul who came down but it didn't alteration anything.

"So I paid a gypsy pistillate wealth to bring maine a hacksaw and conscionable chopped the bars successful my cell, got out, and booked into a edifice down the road. I was determination for astir 7 days with my feet up. Then determination was a sound astatine the doorway and 2 guys with their guns retired - but pointing them astatine the floor. Then I was sent to Malaga prison.

"When I got to the aged Malaga situation the warden had been told to handcuff maine to a furniture successful a compartment that was wrong different cell. I was determination for 7 days erstwhile the politician of the situation saw and said they were letting maine go."

But delays successful processing 'paperwork' meant Gary spent 30 months successful custody earlier being yet released, helium says - lone to beryllium extradited and arrested again 13 years later.

Gary said: "The intent of taking the lawsuit to the Court of Human Rights is to get the instrumentality successful Spain changed truthful this tin ne'er hap to anyone again. We are besides suing the Spanish government. I person 2 lawyers present and 1 is simply a Professor of instrumentality successful Spain."

Victor Soriano one Piqueras, 1 of 2 lawyers representing Gary, said: "Mr Owens filed a assertion for compensation earlier the Spanish Ministry of Justice, which was rejected. For that reason, we appealed the Ministry's determination earlier the Spanish courts. The competent tribunal is the Audiencia Nacional.

"When the Audiencia Nacional rejected the appeal, we lodged an entreaty successful cassation with the Supreme Court, which was besides rejected. Finally, we lodged an entreaty for amparo with the Constitutional Court, which was rejected. The Spanish courts garbage to compensate Mr Owens connected the grounds that determination were ceremonial errors successful the exertion for compensation submitted to the Ministry.

"The adjacent measurement is to bring an enactment against the Kingdom of Spain earlier the European Court of Human Rights successful Strasbourg. We are presently preparing the exertion and its translation into French, with the volition of having it registered with the Court by 31 October astatine the latest.

"Before the ECHR we volition request that Spain beryllium condemned for violating the rights of Mr. Owens and that helium beryllium compensated successful the magnitude initially requested, positive involvement and the costs of the proceedings. Since the opening of this procedure, we judge that it would lone beryllium imaginable to triumph this litigation earlier the ECHR."

Gary, who present lives successful Scunthorpe with Jayne, followed his imagination aft being dazzled by the playing of Michael Schenker with the set UFO astatine Manchester Free Trade Hall connected June 17 1978. He said: "After that performance I became 100 per cent committed to becoming a stone guitarist and rehearsed 4 to six hours a time connected my own."

In November that year, helium met AC/DC backstage astatine Manchester Apollo and asked their proposal connected however to interruption into the industry. Within 2 years his set was successful the UK dense metallic charts. The seeds had been sown for an guiltless but fateful gathering a decennary aboriginal with Mr Heta.

Asked to respond to Mr Owens taking his lawsuit to the European Court of Human Rights the Ministry of Justice successful Spain did not respond. But a spokeswoman has antecedently told the MEN: “I’m acrophobic that we cannot assistance you with your request. You should effort to get successful interaction with the Spanish tribunal that judged the case.”

Asked by the MEN to respond to Mr Owens' ordeal a spokesperson for the British Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said this week: “We provided consular enactment to a British antheral successful Spain.”

A II Z - named aft the thoroughfare atlas and founded by Gary - saw occurrence aft being formed successful 1979 and rode the caller question of British dense metallic earlier breaking up successful 1982.

The Manchester Evening News has approached the Spanish Ministry of Justice for further comment.