French authorities lodge formal extradition request for Ian Bailey almost 23 years after West Cork murder

Mr Bailey is currently the subject of a European Arrest Warrant as a result of a conviction in a French court for the murder of Sophie Toscan du Plantier.
The Echo understands that the Minister for Justice, Charlie Flanagan, has now received a formal request for Mr Bailey’s extradition.
An application is now expected to be made to the High Court for a warrant to be issued here.
Mr Bailey was arrested twice as part of the garda investigation into the 1996 murder in Goleen, Co Cork, but has never been charged in Ireland. However, a French court convicted him of the murder, in his absence, last May.
Mr Bailey has always argued his innocence and described the French conviction as a showcase and a “dreadful miscarriage of justice.”
