The High Court has ordered the surrender of John Paul Barrett to France to serve the unexpired part of a two-year prison sentence imposed in his absence in 2014. The court dismissed his objections under the European Arrest Warrant Act 2003 and said it would consider an application to postpone surrender because he was due to undergo a scan in January 2022.
The European arrest warrant sought his return to serve one year, four months and one day of the sentence. The French warrant related to three offences arising from an alleged 2010 cigarette-smuggling operation: smuggling highly taxed goods in an organised gang, attempted undeclared export of such goods, and criminal association to prepare an offence punishable by up to 10 years’ imprisonment.
Barrett argued that surrender was barred because the Irish and French offences did not correspond, the judgment and proceedings were unclear, and surrender would breach his rights. He said he had not known of the outstanding sentence and would struggle to defend himself because of the time that had passed and the effects of a serious head injury. He also relied on his medical needs and family circumstances.
The court found that Irish offences under the Finance Act 2001 and Customs Consolidation Act 1876 corresponded to the two French offences not covered by the statutory category for participation in a criminal organisation. It rejected the claim that the judgment lacked sufficient detail, noting that the warrant identified an order of the Criminal Court of Lille dated 30 January 2014.
On the trial in absentia, the judge found that Barrett had given French authorities his lawyer’s address for notifications and accepted receiving notice of the scheduled hearing from his lawyer. The judgment said he chose to ignore the proceedings. The court held that the requirements for surrender in such cases had been met.
The judge also rejected the arguments based on delay, fair-trial and family-life rights, and health. The court noted that France had said Barrett could request a medical assessment and that its appeal court could consider his criminal responsibility and the compatibility of his health with imprisonment. No case was made that the French prison system could not meet his medical needs.
The court dismissed Barrett’s objections and said it would make an order under section 16 for his surrender to France. It did not decide any application to delay surrender; it said it was prepared to consider one in light of the planned January scan.