The deteriorating health of a man fighting against extradition from NZ to China for the past decade has been highlighted in the Supreme Court by his lawyers, who say it's a significant change in circumstance that warrants the Justice Minister to throw out the case.
Kyung Yup Kim, a Korean-born New Zealand resident, is accused of murdering 20-year-old woman Pei Yun Chen while visiting Shanghai in 2009.
Chinese police say they have forensic evidence, but Kim denies the accusation and claims to have a defence.
His lawyer Tony Ellis said the 46-year-old has developed a brain tumour as well as kidney and liver disease and said there's a 50 per cent chance he'll need a kidney transplant by the time he's 60.
Ellis said medical treatment in Chinese jails is "not too good" and alleged organs are harvested from Falun Gong practitioners, something UN human rights experts have expressed alarm over. "Where's Kim going to get a kidney from?" he put to the court.
But the Crown said there was nothing materially different about Kim's case from what had previously been presented.
Solicitor-General Una Jagose told the court that Chinese law provides for medical treatment and Kim can be examined by someone of his choice.
Underpinning Kim's argument is that he will not get a fair trial in China and will be at risk of torture.
Diplomatic assurances have sought that this won't happen, but the Supreme Court is seeking that the quality of two of those assurances be strengthened, namely that Kim will be detained and tried in Shanghai and that he will be visited every 48 hours.
On Friday the Crown said those assurances have been met and the court can conclude Kim is not at risk of torture. “These assurances haven’t been plucked out of thin air,” said Jagose, who explained how they had been negotiated face-to-face since 2015.
But Kim's team is skeptical of the assurances. Lawyer Ben Keith said there's a risk of "white torture," a psychological torture that can’t be easily detected, but which deprives the prisoner of all colour.
He said Kim's increased prominence had also made torture a greater risk.
China ordered Kim's extradition in 2011 - the first and only time it's asked New Zealand to surrender one of its citizens or residents. New Zealand, like many Western countries, does not have an extradition treaty with China.
Justice Minister Kris Faafoi has the final say on Kyung Yup Kim's extradition.
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