Honeymoon murder suspect Shrien Dewani has been admitted to hospital after suffering a reaction to his medication, his family has said, scotching rumours that he had attempted suicide.
Mr Dewani, wanted in South Africa for allegedly hiring a hitman to kill his bride Anni, 28, is suffering from severe post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
He was taken to hospital in Bristol on Sunday after having a reaction to his sleeping tablets, a family spokesman said. It has emerged that the 31-year-old care home boss has lost almost two stone and become extremely fragile because of stress and depression.
The family spokesman said: "Shrien had a reaction to his sleeping tablets on Sunday and was taken to hospital as a precaution. They allowed him to sleep it off without any other treatment and he has been assessed as being medically fit to be discharged today.
"There was no intention to kill himself. He continues to suffer from severe PTSD under the most extreme pressures from South Africa."
His condition has been exacerbated by "recent revelations about the sexual assault of his wife in South Africa and unhelpful and prejudicial comments from senior officials", the spokesman added.
New evidence has emerged in recent days reportedly indicating that Mrs Dewani was sexually assaulted before her murder and casting further doubt on the theory that she was killed on her husband's orders. But South Africa's national director of public prosecutions, Menzi Semelani, accused the Briton of committing a "heinous crime" during a television interview last week.
Mr Dewani's supporters say he has little chance of getting a fair trial while such comments by senior figures are being broadcast around the country. Mr Dewani's PTSD has been causing particular concern to his family and doctors, said his spokesman Max Clifford.
Mrs Dewani, from Sweden, was shot when a taxi the couple were travelling in was hijacked in the Gugulethu township on the outskirts of Cape Town on November 13. She was found dead in the back of the abandoned vehicle with a bullet wound to her neck after cabbie Zola Tongo drove the newlyweds to the impoverished area.
Read More
Mr Dewani, of Westbury-on-Trym, Bristol, is due to appear before City of Westminster Magistrates' Court on March 23 for the next stage of the proceedings, with a three-day extradition hearing set for May 3-5.
