The High Court has ordered the surrender of Amirik Singh to Italy, where he is sought for prosecution over three alleged offences. Mr Justice Patrick McGrath rejected arguments that no decision had been made to charge and try him, and that his pending international protection application prevented surrender.
The European Arrest Warrant, issued on 17 July 2023, seeks Mr Singh’s surrender to the Republic of Italy. The alleged offences are causing grievous bodily harm, breaching a prohibition on possessing a firearm, and carrying a weapon in a public place. The judgment says each carries a maximum sentence of more than three years’ detention or custody.
Mr Singh was arrested in Ireland on 23 October 2023 after an alert on the Schengen Information System II and appeared before the High Court that day. The issuing judicial authority later clarified the offences in response to a request for further information.
Mr Singh argued that surrender was barred under section 21A of the European Arrest Warrant Act 2003 because no decision had been made in Italy to charge and try him. An Italian lawyer who provided evidence for him said the decision to put him on trial could only be made after a preliminary hearing, which had not yet taken place.
The Italian issuing judicial authority told the Irish court that there had been an intention, when the warrant was issued, to charge Mr Singh and put him on trial, and that sufficient evidence was considered to exist. The authority said the decision to put him on trial would be made after his surrender. The judge held that the present intention to prosecute was sufficient under section 21A, despite the further steps required by Italian procedure. He found that this objection was not made out.
Mr Singh also argued that, as an applicant for international protection, he was entitled to remain in Ireland until his application was decided. The judge rejected that objection, relying on an earlier High Court decision that an international protection application does not itself prevent surrender where safeguards protect against refoulement and preserve access to a fair asylum procedure.
The court rejected both objections and said it would make an order under section 16 of the 2003 Act for Mr Singh’s surrender to Italy. The judgment records the court’s decision to make the order; it does not state that the surrender had already taken place.