Court Rejects Application To Extradite Alleged Paedophile

A Polish man wanted in his native country for the alleged sexual exploitation of children has walked free from the High Court after the request for his extradition was refused.

The Polish authorities had been seeking the extradition of Jaroslav Piotr Gotszlik, a man in his mid 20s who is believed to have been residing in Belclare, near Tuam, Co Galway.

The court refused the application to extradite Gotszlik due to the manner in which warrants were presented.

The court heard that Gotszlik’s extradition was sought firstly because has yet to serve a 16 month prison sentence he received in 2003 after he was found guilty of an assault and secondly for the alleged sexual exploitation of children and child pornography.

In his judgment today Mr Justice Michael Peart said that after careful consideration the court had to refuse to order Mr Gotszlik’s extradition and ordered that he be released. (Mr Gotszlik had been on bail.)

The Judge said that in November 2006 the Polish authorities issued two separate European Arrest Warrants, one for each of the offences rather than one warrant which contained both offences as invariably happens.

The fact that two warrants were issued, the Judge said, was not contemplated by the legislation, and had the result where they “conspired against each other.”

The Judge agreed with argument put forward by counsel for Mr Gotszlik, Mr Kieran Kelly Bl, that because of the existence of the two warrants the court was precluded from ordering Mr Gotzslik’s surrender.

Counsel had argued that to order his client’s extradition would be contrary to the provisions of section 22 of the European Arrest Warrant Act.

The Judge said that it was not for this court to “plug a gap” to deal with “an anomaly,” but rather to apply the law.

However Mr Justice Peart added that his judgment should not prevent Poland from making a fresh request for Mr Gotszlik’s extradition.