Extradition threat leaves Jersey mother worried for her children’s future

Tuesday 11 September 2018

The wife of a man threatened with being separated from his three sons under six, due to stealing £20 worth of beer and minor drugs charges committed as a teenager, has said she is anxious for her children’s wellbeing should her husband be forced to leave the island.

Jersey woman Jessica Pabian is nervously awaiting a decision from the Attorney General to decide whether her husband of five years, Mateusz Pabian, will have to return to his native Poland to face an 18-month prison sentence for crimes committed over a decade ago as per an extradition request from the Republic of Poland.

After a hearing in the Magistrate’s Court ruled against Mr Pabian’s rebuttal of the extradition request, Jessica has told Express her worries for her three young sons, all aged under six, should their father have to leave Jersey for a year-and-a-half. 

The Republic of Poland is demanding that Mr Pabian returns to his home country to serve a prison sentence for breaking into a shop and stealing £21.05 worth of beer (according to current exchange rates) as well as possessing and growing small amounts of cannabis when he was 19 and 20 years old.

Jessica said she was “shocked” at the ruling of Assistant Magistrate Peter Harris and she became emotional when describing the effects that the extradition threat is already having on her children.

Pictured: Assistant Magistrate Peter Harris ruled against Mr Pabian at a special extradition hearing in the Magistrate's Court last week. 

Speaking to Express, Jessica said: “I’m just really, really worried because I feel like this whole thing is making my kids insecure. One’s already asked if he’s going back [to Poland]… I’m just trying my hardest to somehow explain what’s happening to them in an age-appropriate way.”

The couple met in 2010, married in 2013 and have three sons together; aged six, two and one. Should the Attorney General agree with the ruling of the Magistrate’s Court, Mr Pabian will be extradited back to Poland – leaving his wife a single mother and his three sons without a father for over a year. 

A recent spate of extradition requests to Jersey come amidst growing concerns about the Polish justice system following a series of reforms by the ruling Law and Justice party.

Jessica said that her youngest two sons don’t really understand what is happening because of their age, but that the case is making her eldest child “insecure”. She said: “My six-year-old has been heartbroken since day one and I’m really worried that this is going to really emotionally affect him, because he’s always been so close to Matt.”

At the time, Mr Pabian pleaded guilty to the charges, but his defence lawyer, Advocate Francesca Pinel, said that the Polish Police told the young Mr Pabian that if he didn’t admit to the charges he would have no right to a defence or appeal. The sentences were suspended several years ago, but Mr Pabian left Poland without telling his probation officer.

Jessica, who was present at the Court hearing last week to support her husband, continued: “I just want people to know that Matt is literally the most genuine, caring, friendly person. He’d literally bend over backwards for anyone if they need help with anything. It’s just so sad that he had such a horrible start in life.”

Jessica said that her husband has made Jersey his home in “For the last nine years, [Mateusz] has been working every single day, paying tax like everyone else, paying social like everyone else – he’s been contributing.”

Jessica said that the waiting is one of the hardest things as her family life hangs in the balance. She told Express: “I’m just exhausted from it all and so is Matt. I just want to know what’s going to happen so that I can find the appropriate support that my children are going to need.” 

Pictured: The Pabian family nervously awaits a decision from the Attorney General Robert MacRae QC on whether Mateusz Pabian will be extradited back to Poland to serve an 18-month prison sentence.

After spending eight weeks in custody, Mr Pabian was granted bail subject to various conditions whilst he waits for the Attorney General to make his decision. Jessica said that since his release they are just trying to savour every moment they have together as a family. She said: “We’re just literally going to try and enjoy however long we have, because we don’t even know how long that will be – it could be days, it could be weeks, it could be months.”