Latvia

Latvia requested the surrender of the requested person from Denmark under a European Arrest Warrant for prosecution in relation to numerous alleged fraud offences. The requested person opposed surrender, relying on prison conditions in Latvia, alleged ill-treatment during an earlier period of pre-trial detention and his status as an ethnic Russian non-citizen of Latvia. Referring to the CJEU judgments in Aranyosi and Căldăraru, the Supreme Court held that, where the executing authorities possess objective, reliable, precise and duly updated information showing a real risk of inhuman or degrading treatment in the issuing Member State, they must determine whether such a risk exists for the individual concerned. The available material, however, showed significant improvements in Latvian detention conditions, including a reduction in prison overcrowding and the introduction of a minimum standard of 4 sq.m. of personal space in multi-occupancy cells. The Court found that the evidence did not establish a real risk that the requested person would be subjected either to persecution on account of his ethnic background or to treatment contrary to Article 3 ECHR and Article 4 of the Charter. The surrender decision was therefore upheld.