Success for Nick Johnson in Russian murder Extradition case

May 20, 2014

Nick Johnson this week secured the discharge of a Russian citizen whose extradition was sought to face allegations of murder in the Russian Federation. A successful businessman in the UK for a number of years, it was alleged that he had been part of a revenge attack upon a man for raping a child, in a region of Russia where law enforcement was poor.

Nick, who practices in white collar crime and related work, successfully argued that to order his client’s return would breach his human rights against inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. The evidence focussed upon continuing appalling prison conditions in the Russian Federation, despite recent assurances of improvements and complaints that evidence in the case had been obtained through torture.

Nick was instructed by Colin Byrne of York firm Howard & Byrne, a demonstration that Exchange Chambers and regional solicitors can provide expert advice and assistance in this specialist area. Remarking on the outcome, Nick said: “The Russian Federation are claiming that improvements are being made but we were able to rely upon recent objective evidence to demonstrate that gross overcrowding, physical abuse and lack of adequate healthcare are still commonplace. The current political context was also relevant in that the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe have recently suspended Russia’s voting rights and excluded the country from decision making bodies.”