The supreme court of Cyprus has rejected an appeal by an individual sought by US authorities for extradition. The man had asked for a special certiorari order to challenge the decision of the Larnaca district court in September 2023, which had approved his extradition to the United States.

The legal proceedings began in February 2023 when the man was arrested at Larnaca airport. He was brought before the Larnaca district court, which scheduled a hearing for his extradition request on April 3. After being released on bail, the man failed to appear at the hearing. His lawyer informed the court that contact with the defendant had been lost. As a result, the district court issued an arrest warrant, but due to a series of delays, it was not executed.

In June, the man’s lawyer withdrew from the case, and, with approval from the ministry of justice, the court decided to proceed with the extradition hearing in his absence. On September 14, the Larnaca district court ruled in favour of the extradition, allowing the request from the United States to proceed, even though the man was not present.

At the time of the ruling, the man was still free and, therefore, unable to file a habeas corpus petition. The supreme court noted that because he had not been detained, he could not challenge the ruling immediately. The court also clarified that an appeal against the extradition decision was not permissible under the law.

The man was eventually arrested in September 2024. He claimed that he was denied the opportunity to file a habeas corpus petition, particularly on November 13, 2023, prior to being taken into custody. However, the supreme court emphasised that he could not have filed such a petition at that time, as the decision had been made when he was not in detention.

The man’s legal team argued that certiorari was the only valid legal avenue to contest the September 2023 decision. The supreme court explained that both habeas corpus and certiorari petitions focus on the legality of the decision, not its merits.

In dismissing the appeal, the supreme court found that the filing of a habeas corpus petition in September 2024 and the subsequent certiorari petition in October were both inappropriate and constituted an abuse of process. The court made it clear that the legal issues raised were already addressed in the habeas corpus petition.

The appeal was ultimately rejected, with the court ruling that the man’s attempts to challenge the legality of his extradition were not justified. As he is currently in detention, the court decided not to issue any order for legal costs.

This ruling underscores the importance of following established legal procedures and confirms Cyprus’ commitment to managing international extradition requests in accordance with the law.