The High Court has ordered Bartolomej Verberger to be surrendered to the Czech Republic to serve a three-year prison sentence arising from a fraud-related conviction.
The European arrest warrant was issued in December 2019 by a judge of the District Court in Breclav. It sought Verberger's surrender to enforce a sentence of three years' imprisonment, all of which remained to be served.
Verberger objected on three grounds. He argued that the warrant was unclear about how many offences were involved and where they occurred, that the conduct did not satisfy the Irish requirement for a corresponding offence, and that Czech prison conditions created a real risk of inhuman or degrading treatment.
Mr Justice Paul Burns rejected each argument.
The warrant described five sets of actions involving Verberger and others in alleged fraud or conspiracy to defraud. Czech authorities subsequently clarified that, under Czech criminal law, those actions constituted a single criminal offence committed within the Czech Republic. The judge also noted that Verberger had personally participated in court hearings in December 2017 and April 2019 and had not identified any specific prejudice caused by the warrant's lack of more precise locations.
On correspondence, the court found that the single Czech offence corresponded with Irish offences including deception, obtaining services by deception or conspiracy to defraud.
The court separately considered reports raising concerns about Czech prison conditions and sought additional information from the issuing state. Czech authorities said Verberger would initially be held at Prague Ruzyne, would receive at least three square metres of personal space and would undergo medical assessment with access to healthcare.
The judge found no substantial grounds for believing Verberger faced a real risk of a fundamental-rights breach. He held that the statutory presumption that another EU state will comply with European arrest warrant obligations had not been rebutted.
The objections were dismissed and surrender was ordered under section 16 of the European Arrest Warrant Act 2003.