American fugitive Nicholas Rossi, who is accused of faking his own death and adopting a fake name to avoid a rape charge, can be extradited to the US, a sheriff has ruled.

Rossi, 35, has claimed he is the victim of mistaken identity and he is a seriously ill Irish orphan named Arthur Knight.

But Sheriff Norman McFadyen has now ruled there is no impediment to him being extradited.

He is wanted by authorities in Utah for allegedly raping a woman in 2008, and also faces multiple accusations of domestic violence in Rhode Island.

The ruling, which was made at Edinburgh Sheriff Court today, will now be considered by Scottish ministers.

Rossi appeared at the hearing via video link after claiming to be unwell, and did not answer when asked to confirm his identity.

His lawyer Mungo Bovey KC tried to delay proceedings and asked for Rossi to be excused, but Sheriff McFadyen suggested Rossi had attended court by videolink ‘voluntarily’.

In an angry outburst, Rossi responded by saying he had been brought before the camera by ‘physical force’, calling the sheriff ‘a disgrace to justice’.

Giving evidence in his defence during a week-long hearing last month, Rossi claimed he was unable to raise his arms above his head due to his illness.

He said the reason he used a wheelchair was because the muscles in his legs had been so badly atrophied that he is unable to walk or support himself.

However, his GP at HMP Edinburgh Dr Barbara Mundweil told the court she saw a video appearing to be of Rossi kicking open a door and kicking a prison officer in the face, despite using a manual wheelchair in prison.

Mundweil, as well as psychiatrists Dr Kunal Choudhary and Dr Angela Cogan, also said Rossi showed no signs of acute mental illness after attempts were made to give more time for the his mental health to be assessed.

Despite his claims to be Arthur Knight, a court ruled last year that he is Rossi.

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