"My heart is hurting"

Wednesday 10 October 2018

A young family will be torn apart after it was decided that a father-of-three must leave Jersey to serve jail-time in Poland for stealing £20 of beer and minor drugs charges committed over a decade ago when he was a teenager.

Mateusz Pabian (31) will leave behind his three young sons aged one, two and six years old and his wife of five years, Jessica.

It comes following a hearing last month held in the Magistrate's Court to decide whether to honour the Polish government's extradition request for Mr Pabian, who was arrested in a dawn raid in July and then kept in custody. 

Assistant Magistrate Peter Harris approved the request, but the final say rested with Jersey's Attorney General, Robert Macrae QC. This week, the family's last hopes of staying together were dashed when they learned that he had agreed with the Assistant Magistrate's ruling. 

Without any more arguments to fight the extradition request with, the Pabians decided they have no grounds to appeal the Attorney General's decision.

Pictured: The Attorney General has signed off on Mateusz Pabian's extradition, meaning he will have to be away from his young family for two years to spend time behind bars in Poland.

“It’s sunk in now that he’s really going. My heart is hurting and I can’t stop myself from feeling emotional every time I see my boys laughing and playing with their dad and knowing that they won’t have him in their lives for the next two years or so," Mr Pabian's wife, Jessica, told Express.

“I just wish it didn’t have to be this way... It’s time to put on my bravest face and be strong for my boys. It’s going to be tough for us but we will get through this and come out stronger as a family.”

The father, who has lived in Jersey for nine years, will now have to return to Poland to serve a total of 23 months in prison for stealing £21.05 worth of beer (according to current exchange rates) and possessing and growing small amounts of cannabis when he was 19 and 20 years old.

Pictured: Jessica says that the next two years will be difficult but that they might make the whole family stronger.

Jessica added that she is “scared” to be left a single mother during this time “without the emotional, physical and financial support” from her husband.

“My youngest two most likely won’t even remember him by the time he comes back and I will be left with a very heartbroken and confused six-year-old," she explained.

Despite not securing the result the family wanted, the heartbroken mother expressed her gratitude to her husband’s lawyer, Advocate Francesca Pinel, who represented him throughout the extradition hearings.

Pictured: The recent spate of extraditions from the Republic of Poland come amid concerns about the country's justice system under its right-wing ruling party.

“Francesca did an outstanding job from the start and although it didn’t go the way we hoped, she tried her best and we are very grateful for that.”

Jessica said that she is now focusing on finding the appropriate support for her children to help them through their father’s absence.