LONDON, 24 Oct. (dpa/EP) –
The lawyer of former German tennis player Boris Becker, Christian-Oliver Moser, has assured that the three-time Wimbledon champion is “well, given the circumstances” and that he has adapted “to daily life” in prison, when they are going to meet six months since he entered a British prison for bankruptcy offences.
The lawyer also told dpa that it has not yet been decided whether Becker will be extradited to his native Germany after serving his sentence. The Southwark Crown Court sentenced the former world number one tennis player on April 29 to two and a half years in prison for hiding assets and loans worth 2.5 million pounds -2.88 million euros- to avoid paying their debts after filing for bankruptcy in 2017.
Becker, 54, is now in Huntercombe Prison, an institution for foreigners that has a lower security level than Wandsworth Prison, where he spent his first few weeks.
“Our client, Boris Becker, is still doing well, given the circumstances, and constructively adapting to everyday prison life,” said his lawyer, explaining that he can make phone calls and communicate with the outside world at any time, but He declined to go into more detail, such as whether Becker was playing sports there or other activities, citing privacy reasons.
It is unclear whether Becker could leave prison next year, as the verdict said he should serve half his sentence with the remaining 15 months on probation, and whether he can stay in the UK.
Becker, who worked as a BBC pundit at Wimbledon in the past, has lived in London for 10 years but does not have British citizenship. The Home Office has only said that any foreigner who has been sentenced to prison in Britain could be extradited.
Moser said it was “not” clear at this point “if and when he can be extradited to Germany”, adding that “there are no concrete plans about his future private residence”.
