A man was convicted of fraud in Hungary and fled to the UK. A UK court decided he must return to Hungary to serve his sentence because the seriousness of the crime outweighed his life in the UK. His attempt to appeal failed.
Key Facts
- •Innocent Uche Johnbull (Appellant), a Nigerian national, was ordered extradited to Hungary to serve a 3-year 6-month sentence for a serious fraud involving money laundering.
- •The Appellant was arrested on an Extradition Arrest Warrant of 3 May 2023 and bailed on 18 July 2023.
- •The Appellant has lived and worked in the UK since 2018, is a carer for vulnerable adults, and supports his two children in Hungary.
- •The Appellant left Hungary after a trial hearing in October 2018, knowing about the proceedings against him and failing to update his address.
- •The District Judge found that the public interest in extradition outweighed the Appellant's private life in the UK.
Legal Principles
Article 8 ECHR (Right to Private and Family Life) considerations are relevant in extradition cases, but must be balanced against the public interest in extradition.
Giedrojc v Poland [2023] EWHC 863 (Admin)
Outcomes
Permission to appeal was refused.
The Judge considered the Appellant's private life but found that the public interest in extradition decisively outweighed it. The Judge's decision was deemed unassailable and the appeal lacked realistic prospect of success.
Permission to adduce fresh evidence was refused.
The fresh evidence was deemed incapable of being decisive.