A man charged in connection with the cultivation of cannabis at a growhouse in Co Tyrone has lost his bid to prevent his extradition to Northern Ireland.
High Court Judge Patrick McGrath rejected claims by Yusuf Ben Mohamed that his surrender would create a real risk of breaching his right to practice his Islamic faith and would breach his personal and family rights.
A 35-year-old married father of three, the respondent moved to Ireland from London when he was aged six, attended school here and runs a licence plate business in Bray, Co Wicklow.
His extradition was sought on foot of a Trade and Co-Operation Agreement warrant issued at Laganside Magistrates Court in Northern Ireland in January 2025.
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He is wanted for prosecution in connection with his alleged involvement in the cultivation of cannabis at a growhouse in Pomeroy, Co Tyrone, in 2019, and the alleged diversion of power from the electricity grid for that purpose at that address.
The respondent argued that extradition would expose him to a real risk of inhuman and degrading treatment on account of his religion. The conditions of detention in Northern Ireland meant a real risk of a breach of his right to practice his Islamic faith, it was claimed.
He also claimed his surrender would amount to disproportionate interference with his personal and family rights under the Constitution and the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).
He said he is the primary caregiver of his mother, aged in her sixties, who lives alone and has several health issues. He further claimed he was the only person who could successfully encourage one of his daughters to eat and that his wife needed his presence and support in dealing with her ongoing health issues.
In his recently published judgment, McGrath noted the respondent relied on a February 2026 report by Prof Javid Rehman of Brunel University, London, which cited a review by David Lammy, now UK deputy prime minister, of the treatment of, and outcomes for, black, Asian and minority ethnic (Bame) individuals within the criminal justice system in England and Wales.
The reliance upon the Lammy review did not support the respondent’s contentions in relation to what might occur in Northern Ireland’s prisons, the judge said. It did not support Rehman’s core claim “that Muslim prisoners within the UK, including Northern Ireland, continue to complain about overarching systemic discrimination within the prison structures”.
The respondent’s claim is also not borne out by “any objective analysis” of the 2023 National Preventative Mechanism Report on Maghaberry Prison, McGrath added. When dealing with faith and religion, the rating for the prison in the category for “respect” remained reasonably good although there was an acknowledgment of an insufficient holding of communal prayers for Muslim prisoners.
The UK, the judge noted, is a state party to the ECHR. In the absence of evidence to the contrary, the court was entitled to assume reasonable efforts would be made by Northern Ireland’s prison authorities to facilitate the respondent’s practice of his Muslim faith.
The respondent, the judge also held, failed to meet the high legal threshold of establishing the effect of his surrender on his personal/family rights would be “truly exceptional”. There is no doubt his surrender would amount to interference, “even a substantial interference”, with those rights but that is “unfortunately a consequence” of surrender in many extradition cases, said McGrath.
