This week I received a letter from the Minister responsible for extradition matters, Baroness Neville Jones.
Her letter was in response to mine, where I had laid out the devastating effects of the European Arrest Warrant on the life of one of my constituents, Mr Michael Turner.
Mr Turner, who set up a small marketing company in Hungary in 2002 with a partner, stopped trading in 2005, after the Hungarian Government took funds from his company bank accounts against future tax liabilities.
Perhaps wisely, Mr Turner decided he lacked the experience, the capital and the clout to operate under such a regime.
After paying all taxes and salaries due, he returned to the UK with nothing, leaving local Hungarian lawyers with all the details.
Three years later, in 2008, an European Arrest Warrant was issued for Turner and his partner, on the grounds that they had committed fraud and owed creditors £18,000.
Deciding to fight, Mr Turner employed a barrister, who confirmed that the inquiry was only an investigation.
In a high court hearing, the barrister argued that an EAW cannot be used for a mere investigation. The presiding judge agreed - but then went on to say that EU directives forced him to give ‘judicial trust’ to the Hungarian authorities.
Mr Turner voluntarily handed himself over – and was immediately locked up, without charge for 115 days.
After a considerable campaign for his freedom, he was suddenly released last February, with no explanation.
Had it all ended there, it would have been bad enough. But the Hungarian prosecutor has now appointed a new police investigation team and instructed them to start all over again.
The Turner family is in despair. This situation has blighted their lives now for 5 years. Hence my letter to the Minister. And my subsequent outrage at finding that once again, our hands are tied by EU regulations.
I am already concerned about the gradual erosion of our sovereignty by the EU; this only serves to confirm it.
We are completed neutered by EU law, even though it has allowed such a grave miscarriage of justice.
This is the same EU, remember, which sets such great store by our human rights.
Or at least everyone’s - except Michael Turner’s.
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