A Co Offaly man has lost his Supreme Court appeal against an order for his extradition to Britain to face charges alleging grievous bodily harm to a man in England 14 years ago.
Mr Hugh Raymond O'Gorman died on October 12th, 1990, 16 months after an assault on him on June 9th, 1989, in Leeds, Yorkshire, having never recovered consciousness.
Mr Oliver Coleman (36), Shannonbridge, Co Offaly, is wanted by the British authorities on charges alleging grievous bodily harm to Mr O'Gorman with intent. His trial was fixed for October 16th, 1990.
Mr Coleman, who was freed on bail pending trial, did not attend his trial and returned to Shannonbridge in 1990 where he has lived since.
He claimed that extradition proceedings were only brought against him after he was approached in Co Offaly by a journalist with Yorkshire Television, Roger Cook, who had questioned him about the death of Mr O'Gorman.
Yorkshire Television later broadcast a programme on March 26th, 1999. The Leeds police denied that the programme was relevant to their pursuing extradition proceedings.
In May 1999 Mr Coleman was arrested in Ireland, and the High Court ordered his extradition to England in April 2002. He appealed that decision to the Supreme Court, which yesterday dismissed the appeal.
Giving its judgment, Mr Justice Hardiman, with whom Mrs Justice Denham and Ms Justice McGuinness agreed, said the evidence of steps taken to pursue Mr Coleman after he absconded was "incomplete, confused and at times self-contradictory".
In 1998, arising from inquiries to gardaí from the Leeds Warrant Office of the West Yorkshire Police, a Det Const Hadley was led to believe Mr Coleman was living in Offaly. On May 31st, 1999, Mr Coleman was arrested on foot of an arrest warrant issued in Leeds Crown Court the previous March.
To grant Mr Coleman's appeal, the court must find the lapse of time between the alleged offence and the extradition being sought was exceptional, and there must also be other exceptional circumstances which would render it unjust, oppressive and invidious to deliver up Mr Coleman.
While there was an undoubted lapse of time in this case, it did not amount to exceptional circumstances.