Leila Rasool represented a client who was arrested in September 2011 on a European Arrest Warrant. The requesting authority sought his extradition to serve the remainder of a three-year prison sentence imposed in June 1995 for an offence of robbery committed in 1993 when our client was 18 years old. The balance on the sentence to serve is one year, nine months and fifteen days.

The extradition was contested on four grounds, namely:

1. Section 14: Passage of time;
2. Section 25: Oppressive because of health;
3. Article 8 of the Human Rights Act: The right to a private life;
4. Limitation period.

Following several adjourned hearings before Westminster Magistrates’ Court, our client was discharged by Senior District Judge Riddle on 2 July 2012 on the basis that in the circumstances extradition would be oppressive pursuant to Section 25 of the Extradition Act 2003. Factors he considered in coming to this decision were:

1. The offence took place nearly 19 years ago;
2. Our client had served 14 months in custody;
3. He has been in the community for 18 years and has not been convicted of any offence since;
4. He was released from prison and for 6/7 years considered mentally unfit to serve a prison sentence;
5. In 2004/5 his health improved to extent he was deemed for to serve his sentence. He then fled to the UK and has since lived a productive life. He has a business, a wife, a ten-year-old child, and a baby on the way;
6. If he was returned to Poland and to custody his health would almost certainly deteriorate and he would become a suicide risk (during current proceedings our client was hospitalised at a psychiatric hospital for a period);
7. If he remains here without the risk of extradition, his health will improve as it did in the past.

The Requesting Authority indicated they wished to appeal the decision; however, within two days of the hearing the CPS advised the defence that they no longer intended to pursue an appeal.

Our client was superbly represented in court by Corinne Bramwell of 9 Bedford Row.