High Court upholds refusal to extradite to France for people smuggling allegation

On 8 June 2021, the High Court dismissed an appeal by France seeking to overturn the decision of a District Judge refusing to extradite Mr B to France to face allegations of people smuggling, said to be worth “several dozens of million” Euros.

Mr Justice Chamberlain found that Judge Ezzat was right to conclude that the French judicial authority had failed in a wholesale manner adequately to particularise the offences alleged against Mr B. The High Court also concluded that further information provided by the French judicial authority “did not contain any properly particularised allegation of unlawful conduct on the part of the respondent”. Judge Ezzat’s decision discharging Mr B pursuant to section 2(4)(c) of the Extradition Act 2003 was accordingly upheld.

Mr B was represented by Graeme Hall, who was instructed by Atabak Eshaghian of Eshaghian Solicitors.