Harriet Bridgeman has fled her home and is living in a seaside hotel amid concerns she may be targeted as she battles extradition over claims she was part of a ‘hit squad’
A British mum wanted in Albania over claims she was part of a “hit squad” is fighting extradition from a secret location amid fears of a possible revenge attack.
Harriet Bridgeman, 30, is said to have posed as a tourist, along with three co-defendants, as they checked into a five-star hotel owned by their alleged target Ardian Nikulaj. They are accused of monitoring his movements while accepting free meals from Mr Nikulaj, 51, while chatting with his wife.
Another suspected member of the gang walked into the hotel restaurant and shot him six times at point blank range a few days later. Horrific CCTV footage of the April 2023 incident captured the moment the gunman launched the attack with a Soviet-made automatic pistol before fleeing.
Bridgeman is now living in a seaside hotel, which boasts a gym, health spa, indoor pool and restaurants, under a 10pm to 6am curfew. She was conditionally bailed after her father paid a £20,000 security to Westminster Magistrates’ Court.
District Judge Michael Snow banned publication of Bridgeman’s whereabouts to protect her from a potential “revenge attack”, a court official confirmed. Bridgeman is free to mingle with families and other guests who have no idea she is alleged to have been part of a hit squad that planned the cold-blooded murder.
The other suspects are Steven Hunt, 51, and Thomas Mithan, 37, from Bristol, and convicted drug dealer Harry Simpson, 34, from Abbey Wood, south London. Albanian prosecutors claim one gave a signal to the alleged gunman to strike.
Edmond Haxhia, 40, a British-Albanian, is accused of arranging the hit as part of a 25-year blood feud between his relatives and those of the victim, which allegedly stemmed back to another murder in 1997.
Lasting nearly three decades, it has already led to seven killings and is alleged to have begun in a row over money. Bridgeman, Hunt, Mithan and Haxhia were arrested on international arrest warrants from Albania in the UK within days of the murder.
The court issued a block on publishing Bridgeman’s address due to concerns for her welfare. All five deny the charges against them and contested extradition at a hearing at the magistrates’ court. The alleged gunman, Ruben Saraiva, a Portuguese-born British resident, is already in Albania awaiting trial for murder after being arrested in Morocco where he allegedly made it to after the attack.
In August last year, following the full extradition hearing, District Judge Daniel Sternberg said Bridgeman, Mithan, Simpson and Haxhia should be sent to Albania.
He said in his judgment: “The Government of Albania’s case is that Edmond Haxhia organised the shooting of Ardian Nikulaj by Reuben Saraiva on 19 April 2023 and that the other requested persons, Steven Hunt, Thomas Mithan, Harriet Bridgeman and Harry Simpson were involved in observations of the victim’s movements in the days leading up to the shooting, and in Simpson’s case on the day of the shooting itself, and that each of them played a part in the planning and execution of the murder.”
The five have yet to be extradited after seeking to overturn the decision at a three day Court of Appeal hearing that began this week. In August the Home Office admitted to Albanian officials to making a potentially serious error that could lead to the proceedings collapsing.
The extradition order stated that all the suspects had been charged in Albania with illegal possession of firearms and ammunition and murder. However, in September 2023 the Albanian authorities dropped the firearms charges, replacing them with counts of “pre-meditated murder”.
The Home Office asked Albania to supply a written assurance about the charges the suspects would face in a bid to stop the mistake being exploited by their lawyers. Albania is understood to have supplied this ahead of this week’s appeal hearing.