Scottish mafia shootings: Alleged hitman claims Spanish prison sentence would ‘infringe his human rights’

A BRITISH MAN who is accused of carrying out the Mafia assassination style killings of two Scottish underworld figures, has said that his rights would be violated by being imprisoned in Spain.

On May 31, a masked assassin gunned down two notorious crime bosses outside a packed Fuengirola pub – moments after the pair of high-ranking Scottish gangsters had watched Paris Saint-Germain thrash Inter Milan 5-0 in the Champions League final.

Ross Monaghan, 43, and Eddie Lyons Jnr, 46, were executed in front of dozens of terrified holidaymakers in a horrifying bloodbath at Monaghan’s Bar – owned by Ross.

Michael Riley, 44 from Huyon in Liverpool, was charged with the murders Monaghan and Lyons Jr., both of whom belonged to the Glasgow Lyons criminal family.

During a brief hearing at Westminster magistrates’ court last week, Riley’s lawyer sought to fight against extradition to Spain, claiming he ‘suffers from depression and anxiety’ and would be ‘in fear of his life from other gang members’ if detained in Spanish prison.

Renata Pinter, for the defence, said such a move would violate Article 3 of the Human Rights Act, which ‘prohibits everyone from being subjected to torture, or to inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment’. 

READ MORE: Scottish mafia shootings: How a team of ‘female spotter used phones stolen from Costa del Sol tourists to track mob leaders before Fuengirola massacre’

The extradition hearing scheduled for November 20, will include a psychiatric assessment.

Last month, new sinister details were revealed about the moments leading up to the shooting of two gangsters who were best friends. This sent shockwaves throughout the Costa del Sol’s expat community.

Anonymous insiders quoted in The Scottish SunAs spotters, a group of experienced female shoplifters was recruited. This crew proved to be crucial in the murder plot.

A mole in Scotland is said to have provided information that was crucial for the killer. Lyons Jnr had traveled to Spain as part a group with Dullater Golf Club.

Spanish cops are convinced that this hit is connected to a long-standing feud of the Lyons family with the Daniel clan. 

Police Scotland released a statement in June to say there was ‘no intelligence to suggest’ the killings were connected to a spate of recent gang-related attacks in the UK being investigated under Operation Portaledge.

Chief Superintendent Pedro Agudo Novo from Malaga’s Provincial Judicial Police Unit said: “The double killing was committed by a killer who is also a member of a rival gang of one of the two victims.”

Riley is currently the only person arrested for the crimes.

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