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MANCHESTER, ENGLAND (BNO NEWS) -- A British judge on Friday postponed a mental health review tribunal for convicted serial killer Ian Brady, who was hospitalized earlier this week and is seeking permission to be transferred to a Scottish prison and be allowed to kill himself.
Judge Robert K. Atherton said in his ruling that Brady's public hearing cannot take place on Monday due to his medical condition, which is not believed to be life-threatening. A significant factor in the decision to postpone the hearing was the fact that the court had previously considered it of importance that Brady would participate in person.
"The Tribunal accepted that Mr Brady's medical condition, though not life-threatening, is such as to preclude his attendance and proper participation in the hearing in public," Atherton said. "The Tribunal considered that it would not be proper to continue in his absence as it had been a significant factor in the decision to grant a hearing in public that he would participate in such a hearing."
The judge said the medical condition of Brady does not allow for a short postponement, but gave no indication when a new date could be set. "In the circumstances the Tribunal had to conclude that the forthcoming hearing must be adjourned to a date to be fixed when the commitments of those involved have been ascertained because of Mr Brady's present physical condition," he said.
Brady, 74, was admitted to Fazakerley Hospital in Merseyside on Monday after becoming acutely physically unwell on his ward at Ashworth Hospital. He underwent a series of tests and was kept under observation while he remained at the general hospital for two nights, but was returned to Ashworth Hospital on Wednesday despite remaining physically unwell.
Brady and his girlfriend, Myra Hindley, were responsible for the murders of at least five children in the Greater Manchester area in 1960s. Brady, sentenced to life imprisonment for three murders, has been detained at Ashworth Hospital under the Mental Health Act since 1985 and is being tube fed ever since he launched successive hunger strike which began in 1999.
Brady requested the mental health review tribunal in August 2010 and wants to be transferred to a Scottish prison and be allowed to die. It would have been his first public appearance since being imprisoned in 1966, as the mental health review tribunal was to be shown to the press and public through videolink.
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