Republic of Ireland’s Court of Appeal upholds the extradition of Liam Campbell to Lithuania

On 28 July 2021, the Republic of Ireland’s (‘ROI’) Court of Appeal dismissed an appeal by Liam Campbell, 58, against a High Court decision ordering his extradition to Lithuania, where he faces potential charges of weapons smuggling.

Mr. Campbell argued that he could not be surrendered because a decision to try him had not yet been made by Lithuanian authorities. However, the Court of Appeal found that there was an intention by Lithuanian authorities to put Mr. Campbell on trial, noting that Lithuanian law required the input of an accused person before an indictment could be brought and this was sufficient for the purposes of satisfying the requirements in section 21A of the European Arrest Warrant Act 2003.

Lithuanian authorities have sought Mr. Campbell’s extradition for more than 12 years for his alleged involvement in the smuggling of weapons in support of the Real IRA between 2006 and 2007. In 2016, he was arrested pursuant to what was the second European Arrest Warrant (‘EAW’) issued by Lithuanian authorities, and spent four years in custody in Northern Ireland, before being released when he successfully argued that to surrender him would be a breach of his Article 3 rights under the European Convention of Human Rights, due to the prison conditions in Lithuania.

Following this most recent third attempt by Lithuanian authorities to have Mr. Campbell extradited, the ROI High Court in June 2020 made an order for his extradition giving rise to the present appeal.

Mr. Campbell now faces a maximum possible sentence of twenty years on conviction of terrorism offences in Lithuania.