Russia

In extradition proceedings, a decision refusing to revoke or replace detention must be translated into a language understood by the requested person where their lack of knowledge of Italian has already been established. Translation of the operative part alone is insufficient where the reasons are filed later, since the person must be able to understand the grounds for the continued deprivation of liberty and exercise their defence rights effectively. Moreover, when deciding any application concerning the imposition, revocation or modification of detention, the court must assess whether objective, reliable and up-to-date evidence indicates a real risk that the requested person would be subjected to inhuman or degrading treatment in the requesting State. Such an assessment cannot be deferred exclusively to the merits stage of the extradition proceedings.

Russia requested the extradition of the requested person from Denmark for prosecution, and the person was detained in Denmark while the extradition request was being examined. At the same time, the Danish immigration authorities decided that he should be transferred to France under the Dublin Regulation for examination of his asylum application. The Supreme Court held that the planned Dublin transfer did not in itself preclude continued detention for extradition purposes. At the time of the District Court’s decision, the extradition proceedings had not been concluded and it remained legally possible for the Danish prosecution authority to decide in favour of extradition to Russia. Having regard to the nature of the case and the requested person’s lack of ties to Denmark, the Court therefore held that the statutory conditions for continued detention remained satisfied. The subsequent release and transfer to France did not deprive the requested person of a legal interest in obtaining judicial review of the earlier detention decision.