Robbie Lawlor murder accused Jonathan Gill challenges extradition to Northern Ireland

Eoin Reynolds

Jonathan Gill, who is wanted in Northern Ireland to face a charge of murdering gangland figure Robbie Lawlor, has challenged his extradition, claiming he will not receive the same protections in the UK courts that he would in the European Union.

Gemma McLoughlin-Burke BL, for Gill (44), told the High Court on Wednesday that part of the evidence the Northern Irish authorities propose to use against her client comes from communications recovered on the encrypted messaging platform, EncroChat.

McLoughlin-Burke said the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has previously ruled that there are circumstances in which such evidence would not be admissible in courts in the EU.

In particular, she said, EncroChat messages would be inadmissible where an accused person is unable to challenge how the evidence was gathered and transferred between policing authorities.

She said that within the EU, any person prosecuted using such evidence would be able to challenge its admissibility at the CJEU and by using protections offered under the European Charter of Fundamental Rights.

However, the charter does not apply in the UK, she said, and the remedy offered by the CJEU does not exist.

Counsel said this was a 'prima facie breach of his [Mr Gill's] charter rights' which he was being deprived of because he is being prosecuted in the UK.

Responding for the Minister for Justice, Leonora Frawley BL, said EncroChat messages are, on their face, admissible in both the EU and the UK.

She said there are multiple ways for Gill to challenge the use of the messages in the UK courts, including through the ordinary rules on admissibility of evidence and by reference to the European Court of Human Rights.

The UK, she said, is still subject to the European Convention on Human Rights, and the presumption exists that Gill will get a fair trial.

She said there is also a tribunal that has been set up in the UK, which is considering the use of covert surveillance in criminal trials.

Frawley said Gill had failed to show that he will not be able to challenge the use of EncroChat messages in the UK Courts or that he would have no remedy if the messages were unfairly admitted into evidence.

Counsel said the test that the Irish court must apply is whether extradition to the UK would result in a 'flagrant and egregious breach of his fundamental rights' or a 'serious risk of a fundamentally unfair trial'.

She said Gill has provided no evidence to support a claim that such a risk exists.

Judge Patrick McGrath remanded Mr Gill in continuing custody ahead of a bail hearing which is due to resume next Monday. He said he will indicate then when he will deliver his judgment on the extradition.

The warrant issued by the Northern Irish authorities alleges that Gill, of Malahide Road, Clontarf, on Dublin's northside was part of a joint enterprise to murder Robert Lawlor on April 4th 2020.

At a previous hearing, Det Gda Robert Cumerford told Frawley that Lawlor's shooting arose out of an ongoing feud involving criminal gangs from Dublin, Drogheda and Sligo in which a number of key personalities have been killed.

Gardaí believe Lawlor murdered Drogheda teenager Keane Mulready Woods, whose remains were dismembered before being discovered in various locations in Drogheda and Dublin.

Gill faces a further charge that between April 2nd and 5th, 2020, he possessed a 9mm self-loading pistol with intent to endanger life or cause serious damage to property or to allow another person to do so.

The State has objected to Gill being granted bail while he awaits a decision on his extradition.