The Copenhagen court of appeal on Thursday upheld a lower court's decision not to extradite a self-confessed gunrunner who parachuted weapons into India, saying it could not rule out mistreatment.

"As the charges against (Niels Holck) are of rebellion against the Indian authorities, the Court finds that extradition to face charges in India would involve a real risk that he would be subjected to treatment that contravenes the European Human Rights Convention Article 3," a court document said on behalf of the five-judge panel.

The article prohibits torture and inhuman or degrading treatment and the court stressed that India had not yet ratified the United Nations' convention against torture.

"I feel somewhat empty and don't really know what to think yet," Holck, 49, told reporters outside the court after the verdict.

The prosecution has 14 days to appeal the case to the supreme court.

Holck has admitted parachuting four tonnes of weapons into West Bengal in 1995 along with five Russians and a Briton in order to help locals in their fight against the Indian government.

He was arrested in April 2010 after Danish justice authorities reached a deal with India over the terms of his extradition, including a promise that he would not be given the death penalty and would serve any possible sentence in Denmark.

But a court overturned the authorities' decision, saying he risked mistreatment.

Holck wrote an autobiography two years ago titled "They Call Me Terrorist" which recounts delivering the arms during a flight that left from Bulgaria, with Thailand as a final destination.

India's air force intercepted the plane on the return flight but Holck managed to escape, unlike the others.

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