The High Court has ordered Tomas Ziznevskis’s surrender to Lithuania for prosecution on offences set out in a European Arrest Warrant, except for part of one alleged offence concerning events in April and May 2010.
In a judgment delivered on 16 June 2020, Mr Justice Binchy rejected objections that no decision had been made to charge and try Mr Ziznevskis, that the warrant was disproportionate, and that surrender would breach his rights because of delay, family ties or a risk of serious harm.
The warrant relates to 11 alleged offences in two Lithuanian criminal investigations. The court said the Lithuanian authorities described both matters as being at the pre-trial investigation stage. It found that this response did not displace the statutory presumption that a decision had been made to charge and try him. The judge also distinguished an earlier case in which the evidence had indicated that a trial decision depended on further investigation.
The court considered whether three offences not covered by the warrant’s listed offence categories corresponded to offences in Ireland. It found correspondence for an allegation that Mr Ziznevskis took a car without the owner’s consent, and for driving-related conduct alleged to have caused a collision. For the June 2010 part of another alleged offence, the warrant described threats to damage property and take a vehicle, followed by a demand for 4,000 Lithuanian litai. The judge found that conduct would correspond to an Irish criminal damage offence.
But the warrant’s account of alleged conduct in April and May 2010 did not provide enough information to match it to an Irish offence. That account alleged that Mr Ziznevskis forced a person to sign a bill of exchange and provide a vehicle as security for a debt. The judge ruled that he could not be surrendered for those activities.
Mr Ziznevskis had argued that delay and his family and work ties in Ireland weighed against surrender. In his affidavit, he said he had lived in Ireland since 2010, had a son here and feared violence from a person connected to the alleged events. These were his claims, not findings that the court accepted. The judge held that the delay did not justify refusing surrender and that the evidence did not establish a real risk of prohibited treatment. He also said proportionality of issuing the warrant was for the Lithuanian authorities and courts to consider.
The order permits surrender for prosecution of all offences in the warrant except the specified April and May 2010 activities. The judgment does not determine whether Mr Ziznevskis committed any of the alleged offences.