Third bid to extradite man ‘abuse of process’
France wants suspect over citizen’s 1996 killing in Cork
A THIRD attempt to extradite Ian Bailey to France, where he is facing a 25-year prison sentence for the murder of Sophie Toscan du Plantier, is an abuse of process, his lawyer has told the High Court in Dublin.
Bailey (63) was arrested last year after a High Court judge endorsed a European Arrest Warrant issued by French authorities.
He is wanted in France for the murder of Ms Toscan du Plantier in Schull, Co Cork, in December 1996.
Bailey, with an address at The Prairie in Schull, was convicted of murder in his absence by a court in Paris in May last year.
The three-judge court imposed a 25-year sentence.
He had no legal representation for the case, did not attend the court, and described it at the time as a farce.
His lawyer Ronan Munro said yesterday that he has an “ironclad”
and “unassailable” right not to be surrendered to French authorities as two previous extradition attempts had been struck down by Irish courts.
Bailey, who appeared in the Dublin court wearing a navy suit and a green scarf as a face covering, did not speak as he listened from the back of the courtroom.
Oscar-nominated Irish film director Jim Sheridan attended the sitting, as he is understood to be making a documentary about Bailey.
Mr Munro
said: “The
central submission is that there is a binding judgment of the Supreme Court that prohibits the surrender of Ian Bailey.
“In Mr Bailey’s case there was a final judgment in 2012. And if that wasn’t enough, there was another judgment in the High
Court in 2017. Were there a third set of proceedings, I say prima facie that it is indicative of an abuse of process. I don’t think it is controversial to say that.
“There have been cases of three warrants being issued unknown to the person being surrendered, but in general in criminal proceedings, if you’re going to do it a third time then there would want to be a good reason.
“If we’re looking at a third attempt to have him prosecuted then the court must apply a very high level of scrutiny, and this may be indicative that the process is being abused.”
Mr Munro said the extradition attempt is a breach of Bailey’s human rights, as was the delay in the trial and the fairness of any trial that may await.
He read a written statement from Bailey, which said he “had nothing to do with” the murder of Ms Toscan du Plantier.
In the affidavit Bailey said he could not pursue his career as a journalist due to the negative media coverage he has received and his ongoing legal battle.
The case continues today and tomorrow, with a decision to be delivered at a later date.