The High Court has postponed its final decision on a surrender request to the United Kingdom after finding that evidence about strip searches at Maghaberry prison raised a real risk of inhuman or degrading treatment for the respondent. The court requested further information from the UK and asked the Minister for Justice to provide relevant information about search technology used in Ireland.
The judgment, delivered by Ms Justice Donnelly on 20 October 2017, concerns a European Arrest Warrant issued for Damien Joseph McLaughlin. The UK seeks his surrender for prosecution on four offences connected to the alleged 2012 murder of prison officer David Black. The court’s ruling did not determine the criminal allegations.
McLaughlin objected to surrender, citing his past treatment in Maghaberry and the risk of forced full-body searches in Roe House, where the judgment said he would be held. He also challenged restrictions on prisoners’ movement. The judge rejected that separate objection, finding that the restrictions described did not amount to inhuman or degrading treatment.
The court reviewed McLaughlin’s account of searches and assaults during detention from 2009 to 2011, medical notes recording complaints and injuries, and reports and other material about prison conditions. It found no objective evidence that current searches were carried out with excessive force or particular humiliation. It also noted that searches had been limited during his later detention at Maghaberry from 2012 to 2014.
However, the judge considered whether searches on entering and leaving the prison were necessary in light of available technology. The August 2010 agreement on conditions in Roe House envisaged technology that could reduce routine full-body searches. Evidence presented to an Oireachtas committee indicated that technology used at Portlaoise Prison had made such searches unnecessary there. The court found this material to be objective, reliable, specific and updated information that rebutted the presumption that entry and exit searches were necessary in the absence of a specific indication.
On that basis, the judge found that the general conditions relating to strip searches in Roe House raised a real risk that McLaughlin could face inhuman or degrading treatment if surrendered. The court said further information might show that the technology was limited, that specific security reasons justified searches, or that McLaughlin would not be searched without an individual indication of necessity.
The court therefore sought information from the UK under section 20 of the European Arrest Warrant Act 2003 and requested relevant information from the Minister about technology in use in Ireland. The judge said the wording of the UK request would be finalised after discussion with counsel. The judgment did not make a final order surrendering or refusing to surrender McLaughlin.