The High Court granted Robert Ostrovskij bail pending a hearing on an application to surrender him to Lithuania, subject to a €5,000 personal bond, a partial cash lodgement and substantial independent surety.
Mr Justice Michael Peart said the proposed €2,000 cash bail, residence requirement and possible signing-on conditions were not enough to ensure Ostrovskij would attend court. The judge required one independent surety for €10,000, or two sureties for €5,000 each, to be approved by the court. One third of Ostrovskij’s own €5,000 bond must also be lodged, alongside what the judge described as the usual other conditions.
The case concerns a European Arrest Warrant issued in Lithuania on 7 July 2005. The warrant relates to the alleged rape of a woman in Vilnius on 29 May 2005 by Ostrovskij and another man. The judgment concerns bail pending the surrender proceedings; it does not determine the allegation or whether Ostrovskij will ultimately be surrendered.
The court heard that Ostrovskij was 17 at the time of the alleged offence and had turned 18 by the hearing. He arrived in Ireland on 5 June 2005, having bought a return ticket to Dublin at Vilnius Airport several days after the alleged offence. His sister said he had originally planned to return to Vilnius to continue his studies, but had since changed his mind. She told the court she believed he would not abscond. Ostrovskij did not give oral evidence; he had sworn an affidavit that was not tested in cross-examination.
A Garda officer who arrested him said he believed Ostrovskij might not attend. He cited his youth, his travel using only a national identity card, his limited long-term ties in Ireland and his father’s continued residence in Vilnius. The officer accepted that Ostrovskij had no criminal record.
The judge said he considered it reasonable, on the balance of probabilities, to presume that Ostrovskij knew or expected that Lithuanian authorities were seeking him when he left. He stressed that this did not affect the presumption of innocence in relation to the alleged offence. The seriousness of the charge and the circumstances of his departure informed the bail assessment, but the court said bail could be granted if adequate safeguards were provided.
The order is conditional: the judgment does not say that the required sureties had been approved or that Ostrovskij was released. The surrender application remained to be determined at a later hearing under section 16 of the Act.