19 September 2025 , 21:09
1039
0
A high court judge has overturned a Home Office decision allowing a vulnerable autistic man to be extradited to the US on cybercrime charges that could result in a possible 52-year sentence.
The UK government has acknowledged that Diogo Santos Coelho, 25, a Portuguese national, was groomed and exploited online by adults starting at age 14, leading him to set up the website RaidForums, which is related to the alleged crimes.
Portugal and the US have made extradition requests for Coelho. He has been assessed as being at a very high risk of suicide and has expressed fear for his life if incarcerated in the US, where he would lack family support. Last year, then UK home secretary James Cleverly stated that the US request should have priority over Portugal’s.
At the high court, Mr Justice Linden determined that Cleverly should have considered Coelho’s “proximity to family and friends, his connection with the respective legal systems, his rights and the likely outcomes in the criminal process, and his rights to support in relation to his mental health, bearing in mind he has been identified as a victim of modern slavery.”
He added: “The fact that the claimant has been diagnosed with autism and has other mental health issues, along with the risk of suicide, are also important aspects of the circumstances.”
Coelho stated: “After years of feeling trapped in a nightmare, this judgment feels like the first ray of light. I feel as though I have been truly heard, the high court has examined the real facts of my case, recognized the unfairness of the situation, and has given me hope that my life doesn’t have to be in this state of limbo forever.
“My stance has always been clear and unchanged: I have agreed to extradition to Portugal, my home country, and I am fully prepared to face the justice system there. I have never tried to evade responsibility, only to be treated with fairness and humanity. This decision has lifted a tremendous weight, and I hope the home secretary will now respect the court’s clear judgment and allow this to happen.”
The judge also concluded that Coelho should have been allowed to make representations before the home secretary’s decision was made and that both Portugal and the US should make representations too.
This implies that when the current home secretary, Shabana Mahmood, reconsiders the decision, as mandated by the ruling, Coelho will have the opportunity to present arguments to her regarding why the Portuguese request should take priority.
Linden further noted that the original decision was made based on the incorrect assumption that all the victims of the alleged offenses were in the US, whereas a major victim was the Portuguese state.
Coelho is accused of controlling and administering RaidForums, a hacking forum responsible for distributing data breaches that facilitate fraud.
Ben Cooper KC, Coelho’s representative, stated: “This is a case where the accused’s home country of Portugal is well-equipped to address its citizen for the full extent of the conduct alleged by the US and more. Our client has already consented to his extradition to Portugal. We are pleased that the court recognized the importance of ensuring the minister has accurate information and considers relevant evidence before making such an important decision that will determine our vulnerable client’s fate.”
The case bears similarities to that of Gary McKinnon, who was also represented by Cooper and who engaged in a decade-long battle against extradition to the US for hacking into the Pentagon, before Theresa May blocked it on human rights grounds, as medical reports indicated he was at risk of suicide.
The Home Office said it does not comment on individual cases.
World Affairs Correspondent