The High Court has ordered Sean Fitton’s surrender to the United Kingdom to serve the remainder of a custodial sentence for grievous bodily harm, after dismissing his objections under the European Arrest Warrant Act 2003.
In a judgment delivered on 27 January 2021, Mr Justice Paul Burns said the surrender request concerned a sentence imposed for an assault on another prisoner while Fitton was in custody. The warrant sought 1 year, 9 months and 13 days of the sentence. The court said Fitton had appeared in person at the hearing that resulted in his conviction and sentence, and found the statutory minimum gravity requirement was met.
Fitton argued that surrender was barred because he faced a risk of harm in detention. His solicitor’s affidavit reported that he had received five police notifications of a threat to his life and had previously been assaulted in custody, but gave no further details. The UK authorities said there was no known immediate or identifiable risk, and gave an assurance that prison officials would assess any risk and take reasonable steps to protect him. The judge found little evidence of a threat and dismissed this objection.
The judge also rejected the argument that Fitton might be prosecuted for other offences after surrender. His counsel pointed to allegations cited in a licence recall notification, including operating an illegal drugs and prostitution network and seriously assaulting a female sex worker. The judge said no other evidence supported the claimed risk and found that Fitton had not rebutted the statutory presumption that the UK did not intend to proceed against him for offences outside the warrant.
Fitton further argued that the UK’s departure from the European Union weakened the basis for surrender. The court found that the relevant withdrawal arrangements and Irish statutory instrument continued to apply the European arrest warrant framework because Fitton had been arrested before the end of the transition period. It also found no cogent evidence that surrender would put his fundamental rights at real risk.
Having dismissed the objections, the court concluded that surrender was not prohibited by the Act and made an order under section 16(1) for Fitton’s surrender to the UK. The judgment records the order; it does not state when the surrender took place.