British father successfully defends Greek extradition charges

A British father of two was today told by a judge at Westminster Magistrates’ Court that he does not have to go to Greece to serve a 15-month prison sentence for a crime he says he did not commit 13 years ago.

Paul Wright was attending an extradition hearing following a European arrest warrant being served against him in March this year. The charges related to an incident which happened when he was on holiday in Crete in 2003, when he was alleged to have been carried in a vehicle taken without consent of the owner. Paul was found guilty in his absence by a Greek court in 2006 and he only learned of this in March this year.

Speaking on behalf of his client Paul Wright, Hodge Jones & Allen partner and criminal defence lawyer Sean Caulfield said: “We are pleased that Mr Wright has been spared extradition in the context of severe delays and procedural mistakes by the Greek authorities. Extradition to Greece would have had a significant detrimental impact on Mr Wright’s health, family and finances.

“The judge agreed that it would breach Mr Wright’s right to private and family life if he were to be sent to Greece. The judge also agreed that extradition should not be ordered because Mr Wright had not deliberately absented himself from his trial in Greece and that he had no right of appeal against his conviction. We are delighted with the court’s decision.”

The Crown Prosecution Service has seven days to appeal this decision. It indicated in court that it may wish to do so.

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Notes for Editors

Hodge Jones and Allen

• Hodge Jones and Allen is one of the UK’s most progressive law firms, renowned for doing things differently and fighting injustice.
• For almost 40 years’ the firm has been at the centre of many of the UK’s landmark legal cases that have changed the lives and rights of many people.
• The firm’s team of specialists have been operating across: Personal Injury, Medical Negligence, Industrial Disease, Civil Liberties, Criminal Defence, Court of Protection, Dispute Resolution, Employment, Family Law, Military Claims, Serious Fraud, Social Housing, Wills & Probate and Property Disputes.
• Co-founder Patrick Allen is still at the helm of the firm he co-founded in 1977.
• In 2016 the firm launched Hearing their voices – a campaign to raise awareness and build conversations around the issues and the injustices we might all face.