DAMIEN BOGUSZEWSKI v POLISH JUDICIAL AUTHORITY

In extradition proceedings, bail may be refused where the proposed conditions do not adequately address the risk that the applicant will fail to surrender. The court must assess that risk in all the circumstances. Relevant considerations include the fact that the warrant concerns outstanding convictions, the length of the sentence, intended international travel without a return ticket, and the applicant’s lack of family or employment ties in the United Kingdom. There is no general presumption in favour of bail. Submissions about mental illness or suicide risk require proper evidential support before the court can draw conclusions about the effect of continued detention. Further bail applications may be made if relevant medical evidence emerges.

The applicant was sought under a European Arrest Warrant issued by the Regional Court at Białystok to enforce two outstanding sentences for drug offences. He had been arrested at Birmingham Airport while intending to travel to Portugal without a return ticket. Two District Judges refused bail. The applicant renewed his application in the Administrative Court, offering residence, reporting, curfew, electronic monitoring, travel restrictions, security and passport retention. He also relied on depression and a recent alleged suicide attempt, but provided no medical evidence. The central issue was whether the proposed conditions adequately addressed the risk of failure to surrender for the extradition hearing.

1. Bail refused. The proposed conditions did not adequately address the risk that the applicant would fail to surrender for the extradition hearing.
2. The risk had to be assessed in all the circumstances. Material considerations included that the applicant was sought under a conviction warrant, had nearly 18 months left to serve, had recently been stopped while intending to travel internationally without a return ticket, and had no family or employment ties in the United Kingdom. The possibility that the Polish court might re-suspend the sentences was uncertain. Those matters made the risk of absconding too great notwithstanding the proposed conditions.
3. There was no presumption in favour of bail in the circumstances. The court found little to add to the reasons given by the District Judges, including the significance of the conviction warrant and the applicant’s international links.
4. The court considered the alleged suicide attempt and emotional vulnerability but had no medical report, letter or other medical evidence. It declined to draw conclusions about the applicant’s mental condition, the care available at HMP Wandsworth, or any effect of continued detention on the risk of suicide without evidence.
5. If medical evidence later established a link between the applicant’s condition and continued detention, including a link between detention and suicide risk, a further bail application could be made. Any such application would have to be considered alongside all the other material.