Irish man to be extradited to Denmark on rape charge

Ryan Dunne

The High Court has ordered the extradition to Denmark of a 34-year-old Irish man who is wanted there on a charge of rape.

The man, who is originally from the south-east of the country and cannot be named for legal reasons, is charged with the offence at a location in Odense, Denmark, on October 17th, 2022.

At the High Court on Wednesday, John Ferry BL, representing the Minister for Justice, said that a European arrest warrant had been issued for the respondent on that same date by a deputy judge at the court of Odense.

He said that the respondent was subsequently arrested by gardaí on October 17th at Dublin Airport after being identified on the Schengen Information System. Mr Ferry said that the prosecution warrant by the Danish court was a valid warrant and everything was in order.

"There is no issue with identity and there is nothing to stop the court surrendering him to Denmark,” said Mr Ferry.

Mr Justice Kerida Naidoo said he was satisfied that the person before the court was the person on the warrant. He said he was satisfied that the minimum gravity had been met by the charge of rape and there was no error or ambiguity in respect of certification.

Mr Justice Naidoo made an order surrendering the respondent to the kingdom of Denmark. He informed the respondent that he had the right to make a complaint against this order before his surrender to the State.

Counsel for the respondent, Simon Matthews BL said there were no objections. He said his client was on bail with a €15,000 surety and there had been no breaches.

Mr Ferry said that as the respondent’s status had changed, there was no consent from the State to bail. He told the court that no issue had been raised with the State by the gardaí, but he said that the gardaí had not been alerted to the defence's application for bail.

Mr Justice Naidoo said that the respondent’s status had changed, but he would allow him to remain on bail. He remanded the respondent on continuing bail for a period not exceeding 15 days, telling him that he must have a mobile phone and surrender himself to the gardaí within 48 hours of the date of surrender. He said the respondent would be brought back before the High Court if he does not surrender by that date.