On 25 May 2017, a Divisional Court comprised of Lord Justice Lloyd Jones and Mr Justice Males allowed an appeal against extradition in respect of Eslame v. Belgian Judicial Authority on the basis of oppression due to passage of time. Mr Eslame's extradition was sought by a Belgian Judicial Authority in respect of an offence of human trafficking dating back to 2005 and 2006 for which he was tried in his absence. Mr Eslame was arrested in Germany in early 2006 and was extradited to Belgium in respect of the offence on the European arrest warrant. He was detained in pre-trial detention for a number of months until he was deported to the United Kingdom. He was not arrested on the European arrest warrant until February 2016. The Divisional Court found that District Judge Goldspring’s decision to order Mr Eslame was in error. In particular, the Divisional Court found that the District Judge was wrong to conclude that the Belgian authorities did not know Mr Eslame’s whereabouts and had not acted in a dilatory fashion. Mr Eslame was represented by Gemma Lindfield instructed by Anthony Hanratty at Kaim Todner and led by Edward Fitzgerald QC.
