Sosik v Prosecutor General, Lithuania

Judgment

Mrs Justice Cox :

This is an appeal pursuant to section 26(1) of the Extradition Act 2003 against the decision of District Judge Zani, on 14 April 2014, to order the Appellant’s extradition to Lithuania, so that he may be tried for an offence of dangerous driving, alleged to have been committed by him on 4 April 2010. His extradition was ordered pursuant to an accusation European Arrest Warrant issued on 31 May 2013 and certified by SOCA on 25 June 2013.

The sole ground of appeal is that extradition would be a disproportionate interference with the rights of the Appellant and his young family under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights. Article 8 was raised and fully argued below and there is an agreed note of the District Judge’s ex tempore judgment included in the skeleton argument prepared by Ms Townshend, appearing for the Respondent. Ms Westcott, who represents the Appellant, does not pursue an Article 3 point as a distinct ground of appeal, in light of the decision of the Divisional Court in Aleksynas and Others v Lithuanian Authorities [2014] EWHC 437. The Court found in that case that, due to assurances provided by the Lithuanian Authorities, any accused person extradited from this country will only be detained in Kaunas remand prison, rather than any other remand prison in Lithuania.

The Facts

The extradition offence is alleged to have been committed on 4 April 2010. The Appellant is said to have lost control of his car while attempting to overtake in an area where overtaking was prohibited and when driving at an unsafe speed, having regard to the road, visibility and weather conditions. It is alleged that, when he moved across the line to overtake, he collided with another car travelling in the opposite direction, injuring the four people inside. The driver and two of the passengers did not suffer any serious injury. However, one of the passengers is said to have suffered “severe impairment of health”. There are no details provided but it is reasonable to assume that this passenger received some serious injuries. The maximum sentence in Lithuania for this offence is five years’ imprisonment. The Appellant denies that he was driving the car at the time.

Initially the Appellant was interviewed as a witness in relation to this incident, on 6 April 2010. He was questioned without a lawyer being present and he made no admissions. He was released without any bail conditions and with no indications of further investigatio