Efforts to return Phillip Smith to New Zealand are mired in legal delays as the convicted murderer and child sex offender struggles to find an English speaking Brazilian lawyer.
Smith's New Zealand lawyer Tony Ellis wrote to Smith early this week recommending he voluntarily return rather than going through a lengthy deportation or extradition process which would extend his stay in inhospitable Brazilian prisons.
However Dr Ellis told the Herald yesterday he had not yet heard back from Smith who absconded to Chile then Brazil while on temporary release from Waikato's Springhill prison two weeks ago.
Requests to speak directly with him had been rejected by Brazilian prison authorities.
Meanwhile, efforts to secure him legal representation from a list of English speaking lawyers supplied by the New Zealand Embassy in Brazil had failed. Most of the lawyers on the list did not have the necessary expertise in extradition or deportation proceedings, while one who did had requested a large amount of money upfront which Smith did not have access to, Dr Ellis said.
