The High Court has ordered Oliver Francis O’Grady’s surrender to Portugal to serve a one-year prison sentence, rejecting his objections over his trial in absentia and the risk of ill-treatment in prison.
In a judgment delivered on 4 July 2025, Mr Justice Patrick McGrath found that O’Grady had been notified in advance of the Portuguese trial hearing on 7 May 2024 and warned that it could proceed without him. He did not attend. A lawyer appointed to represent him appeared at the trial, and he was later personally served with the judgment and informed of a right to appeal within 30 days. No appeal was lodged.
O’Grady argued that his defence rights had not been adequately protected because he could not contact the appointed lawyer, and that surrender would breach his right to a fair trial. He said he had tried to contact the lawyer and had emailed the prosecutor seeking another representative. Portuguese authorities told the High Court they had no record of those contacts, and said the appointed lawyer attended and represented him.
The judge accepted the authorities’ account. He found the notice of the hearing clear, and said O’Grady knew both that he was required to attend and that the trial might go ahead in his absence. The judge rejected the claim that difficulties contacting the lawyer made the process unfair. He also concluded that the evidence did not establish a failure by Portuguese authorities to take reasonable steps to provide legal assistance. The objection based on the in-absentia trial was dismissed.
O’Grady also objected that Portuguese prison conditions could expose him to inhuman or degrading treatment. He cited reports and court decisions raising concerns about conditions in some Portuguese prisons. The issuing authority assured the High Court that, if surrendered, he would be held at Carregueira Prison and receive medical assessment and necessary treatment. The judge noted that the cited material did not identify Carregueira as a prison with materially criticised conditions, and relied on the assurances provided.
The court found no real risk that O’Grady would face inhuman or degrading treatment and rejected this objection under section 37 of the European Arrest Warrant Act 2003. It ordered surrender under section 16 of the Act. The judgment describes the Portuguese sentence as imposed for one offence, with the warrant giving the offence as “pornography of minors unforseen”.