Mark Summers QC and James Stansfeld represented Mr Boris Karpickovs, who was the subject of an extradition request from the Republic of Latvia. In refusing extradition under s.13 of the Extradition Act 2003, DJ Baraitser concluded that the extradition request was brought for the purpose of silencing Mr Karpickovs as a result of his work for both the Russian and Latvian intelligence services and he might accordingly be prejudiced at his trial. The Court further concluded that there was a real risk of Mr Karpickovs suffering a flagrant denial of justice contrary to article 6 ECHR, due to the incentive of individuals to interfere with the usual course of justice in his case and the long-standing and deep-rooted problems with corruption within the Latvian judicial system.
The Latvian authorities did not apply for permission to appeal the decision. Mark and James were instructed by Martin Rackstraw of Russell-Cooke LLP.