Source: The Independent, London; AP; Ardiin Erkh                       Date: 10 November, 2010

When Mongolia's spy chief stepped off an Aeroflot flight into Heathrow a few weeks ago, he expected a welcome befitting a foreign dignitary arriving for high-level talks with the British government on a new era of intelligence co-operation. After all, preparations for his visit had included an invitation to meet Downing Street's National Security Adviser. But rather than being ushered through Heathrow's VIP lounge for talks in Whitehall's inner sanctum, the chief executive of Mongolia's National Security Council and the one-time head of its security service was met by Scotland Yard detectives armed with an international warrant for his arrest.

Bat Khurts, Mongolia's most senior intelligence officer, is currently languishing in a cell in London's Wandsworth prison while awaiting extradition proceedings. It is an extraordinary twist to a tale of alleged trans-border kidnap and skullduggery that began seven years ago in a McDonald's car park in a French port – and has led to a diplomatic row.

Mr. Khurts, publicly known as the head of administration in the National Security Council, was arrested for the alleged drugging and rendition of a refugee who was later tortured in a Mongolian prison. Lawyers for Mr. Khurts accuse Foreign Office officials of "misusing ordinary diplomatic courtesies" to facilitate the Mongolian father-of-three's arrest. Court papers allege that the Foreign Office contacted the UK Serious and Organised Crime Agency (Soca) with full details of Mr. Khurts' arrival date to enable his detention on an outstanding European arrest warrant.

Certainly, the reception received by the Mongolian intelligence chief bore little resemblance to what seems to have been originally envisaged by the Foreign Office when he was put forward in November last year as the best person to liaise with British officials about "establishing ties" between the security services in both countries.  Mongolia, traditionally regarded as a geo-political backwater, is increasingly seen by London and Washington as a strategic ally, not least because of its geographical position, sandwiched between Russia and China. The opportunity for a closer relationship with the Mongolian intelligence services was quickly grasped by British diplomats and the intelligence services.

Papers presented to the High Court last week in a failed attempt to secure bail allege that a senior FCO official suggested that Mr. Khurts meet Sir Peter Ricketts, the National Security Adviser, during a meeting with the Mongolian Ambassador to London on 31 August – nearly three weeks before the senior spy arrived. The documents claim that the Foreign Office contacted a Soca agent to say that Mr. Khurts was travelling to Britain and passed on details of his flight from Mongolia.  FCO officials in London only became aware of the arrest warrant against Mr. Khurts after the initial agreement for his visit had been reached.

Lawyers for the spy chief, who was travelling on a diplomatic passport, claim his status means he is immune from prosecution and was the victim of double-dealing by the British government. A statement to the High Court on behalf of Mr. Khurts said: "There has been an abuse of process of the court based on the premise that officials representing the UK in Mongolia and London misused the ordinary diplomatic courtesies shown to a high representative of a friend state to facilitate his arrest."

The reason for the current predicament of Mr. Khurts, the son of a prominent Mongolian architect, dates back to the events that unfolded at 2:30 pm on 14 May 2003 when D Enkhbat, a refugee from Ulaanbaatar, arrived in the car park of a branch of McDonald's in the Normandy port of Le Havre. Enkhbat, 43, who was wanted in Mongolia for the assassination in 1998 of S.Zorig, a government minister, and had been living in Caen after applying for refugee status in France under a false name, thought he was meeting a female Mongolian dissident.

But, upon his arrival at the restaurant, witnesses saw him being jumped upon by four Mongolian men carrying electric batons who beat him and dragged him by his hair. German police believe he was then forced to drink a sedative before being bundled unconscious into a car. Over the next four days, the kidnap victim was driven across France to the Mongolian consulate in Brussels and on to Germany before being accompanied on to a Mongolian Airlines flight from Berlin to Ulaanbaatar. It is alleged by the German authorities that Mr. Khurts was the driver of that car and a key member of a snatch squad. Prosecutors in Berlin issued a European arrest warrant for Mr. Khurts in 2006, which was activated by his arrival at Heathrow.

Enkhbat later told his lawyers that he was tortured by General Intelligence Agency interrogators who repeatedly cocked and fired a handgun pressed to his head to try to force him to confess to the murder of the minister (a claim he continued to deny until his death). Enkhbat was eventually released from prison in 2006 but died five days later. A member of his family said the injuries he suffered during his torture had played a "key role" in his death.

Mr. Enkhbat’s former lawyer, Mr. L. Sanjaasuren, has said his client had been tortured into confessing to a crime he did not commit. Mr. Sanjaasuren said he himself had been jailed for nine months on the charge of revealing state secrets merely for the act of protesting Mr. Enkhbat’s abduction.

The Mongolian government concedes that Mr. Khurts’ actions were illegal but argues that he was traveling with a diplomatic passport. Diplomats are normally shielded from prosecution when traveling abroad. The government has sent an official note of apology to the governments of France, Belgium and Germany.

“It was an illegal decision and action to kidnap and bring the person from Europe under diplomatic cover and in violation of international laws and treaties,” said Mr. Monkhoon, a spokesman with Mongolia’s Foreign Ministry.

Lawyers for Mr. Khurts dismissed claims that his links to the Mongolian secret service made him a flight risk. They have presented a letter from Mongolia's Deputy Prime Minister providing assurances that he would not abscond, along with an offer for the intelligence chief to wear an electronic tag and reside at the Mongolian embassy in Kensington if he is released on bail.

But, for the moment, the master spy, diplomatic emissary and alleged kidnapper must remain in Her Majesty’s Prison Wandsworth after Mr. Justice McCombe sitting in the High Court ruled on Tuesday last week that there was a risk he would flee the country.

In a statement, the Foreign Office said: "Mr. Khurts was arrested under a European arrest warrant issued by the German judicial authorities. His extradition is now before the courts and it would be inappropriate for us to offer further comment at this stage." A spokesman for the Mongolian embassy declined to comment, saying the matter was "too delicate" to discuss.

Meanwhile in Ulaanbaatar, Mr. D.Bayaraa, brother of D.Enkhbat who was abducted, said on Monday he had been attacked by unknown people on the night of October 25 and forced to drink something poisonous. Mr. Bayaraa said he wanted to submit certain documents the dead Enkhbat had left with him to the German Embassy on the day of the attack. These could be important in the ongoing trial of Mr.Khurts in Britain. Someone must have got to know about his plan and so attacked him to stop him from going. If his condition improves, he will attend the trial on November 15.