Imre Arakas challenges extradition over murder and other charges

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

Imre Arakas challenged his extradition to Lithuania at the High Court before Mr Justice Paul Burns on 22 June 2021. The proceedings were reported on 22 June 2021.

Lithuanian police sought his surrender over murder, firearms and conspiracy-related charges concerning the 2015 shooting of Deimantas Bugavicius. There was a separate warrant for a criminal damage charge.

Arakas was serving a six-year sentence imposed by the Special Criminal Court in December 2018 for conspiring with others to murder James Gately in Northern Ireland between 3 and 4 April 2017. He had pleaded guilty to that offence.

Opposing surrender, Remy Farrell SC said the question was whether Lithuanian authorities had decided to try Arakas and argued there was clear evidence that no decision had been made. He said Arakas had told gardaí he was in Spain on the relevant dates. Farrell also said an eyewitness to the alleged murder had concluded from photographs that Arakas was not the person present at the scene.

Ronan Kennedy SC, for the Minister for Justice, said the warrant clearly stated that it was issued to conduct a criminal prosecution. Mr Justice Burns directed counsel to draft further questions about whether Lithuanian authorities intended to try Arakas when the warrant was issued.

The judge fixed the resumed extradition hearing for 15 July 2021 and listed the case for mention on 12 July. Arakas was remanded in custody until the following month.