Extradition to UK would raise fair trial issues, lawyers for Jonathan Gill say

Alison O’Riordan

The proposed extradition of Jonathan Gill, who is wanted in Northern Ireland in connection with the murder of gangland criminal Robbie Lawlor, could impact his right to a fair trial, his lawyers have told the High Court.

Gill on Friday failed in a second application to have a senior barrister represent him in his extradition challenge before the High Court next month.

The respondent (44), with an address on the Malahide Road in Clontarf, on Dublin's northside, will challenge a bid by authorities in the North to extradite him on June 3rd next.

Gill is wanted by the PSNI so he can be prosecuted, on a “joint enterprise basis”, for the murder of 36-year-old Lawlor, who was shot dead in the front garden of a house at Etna Drive, Belfast, on the morning of April 4th 2020.

He is also accused of the possession of a 9mm self-loading pistol with intent to endanger life on a date unknown between April 2nd and 5th that year.

The courts have heard in other cases how gardai are satisfied that Lawlor, a notorious criminal linked to several violent deaths, murdered Drogheda teenager Keane Mulready Woods in January 2020.

The PSNI believe Lawlor's murder was part of an ongoing drugs feud, involving criminal elements in the Dublin, Sligo and Drogheda areas.

Gill appeared on Friday before High Court judge Justice Sean Gillane in order to allow his legal team to make a second application for senior counsel in the case.

Counsel for Gill, Gemma McLoughlin-Burke, told the judge that she wished to renew her application, having filed her points of objection to the extradition with the court.

McLoughlin-Burke argued that she should be granted second counsel due to a novel issue of law arising from the "unusual" Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) between the United Kingdom and the EU, which also governs extradition requests between the two blocs.

Furthermore, counsel said that data from "EncroChat" - an encrypted phone network - forms part of the case, in circumstances where the UK courts have ruled in previous cases that such data does not amount to an "intercepted communication" and thus would be admissible in evidence.

However, she submitted that the Court of Justice of the European Union has ruled that data taken from "EncroChat" is an "intercepted communication".

The barrister argued that a court in the EU would have to find the evidence in question inadmissible, whereas the evidence would be permitted in the UK, raising issues in relation to the respondent's right to a fair trial.

In reply, Leanora Frawley, for the Minister for Justice, said the Minister's position had not changed and there did not appear to be the necessary complexity or novelty in the respondent's argument to justify granting a second counsel.

McLoughlin-Burke submitted it was not simply her client who wanted senior counsel in his case; it was also her view that the case merited it. She said that potential complexity and novelty arose in the case.

Refusing the application, Justice Gillane said it seemed to him that the legal landscape was clear and he was satisfied that McLoughlin-Burke was more than capable of presenting the arguments to him.

The judge remanded Gill in custody until May 6th, when the respondent is expected to apply for bail.

On April 3rd last, Gill was arrested on foot of an extradition warrant issued to the PSNI by Belfast Magistrates’ Court on March 31st.