A High Court judge has delivered a stinging rebuke to the Home Office, blocking the extradition of Portuguese national Diogo Santos Coelho in a ruling that highlights significant procedural failings.
Mr Justice Lane quashed the decision, stating the Home Secretary's handling of the case exhibited a 'conspicuous unfairness'. The court found that officials had disregarded a crucial expert psychiatric report, which concluded that extraditing Mr Coelho would create a 'high risk of suicide'.
A Case Mired in 'Unfairness'
The ruling detailed a series of missteps by the authorities. The judge noted that the Home Office had pressed ahead with the extradition order despite the alarming medical evidence and had failed to provide adequate reasoning for its decision.
Furthermore, the court heard that Mr Coelho's mental health had severely deteriorated since his initial arrest in 2020. His counsel argued that extraditing him to Portugal would violate his rights under Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which prohibits inhuman or degrading treatment.
Wider Implications for Justice
This ruling is a significant judicial intervention, emphasising the duty of the state to consider individual circumstances, particularly concerning mental health and wellbeing. It reinforces the principle that administrative convenience cannot override fundamental human rights.
The case has been sent back to the Home Office for a fresh decision, forcing officials to properly consider the psychiatric evidence they had previously ignored. This sets a important precedent for how similar cases involving vulnerable individuals must be handled in the future.
