Freedom Hosting: High Court grants extradition of Irishman to Us

Posted by: Benjamin Vitáris

December 19, 2015

Eric Eoin Marques (30) from Dublin is accused of setting up and administrating Freedom Hosting, a hosting site that allowed numerous websites post videos and images of child porn. He is also accused with the advertisement and distribution of child pornography. Marques is currently planning his appeal to the Irish High Court’s decision of extraditing him to the US government.

According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Marques is believed to the “the world’s largest facilitator of child porn”. If he is extradited to the United States, where he is wanted as a criminal, he could face a life sentence in federal prison.

Last year, Special Agent Brooke Donahue from the FBI flew to Ireland in the case of Marques’ extradition to the US and provided evidence of the man to the High Court. The alleged administrator of Freedom Hosting is a dual citizen of the United States and Ireland, that’s why it is easier for the government to extradite him to the US.

According to Special Agent Donohue, Freedom Hosting thousands of members used the hosting website to post millions of images of child abuse. The pictures were described as being ”extremely violent and graphic” and are illustrating the rape and torture of underaged children.

Marques has been arrested on August 2013 and remained in custody until then. He was back in court today where Justice Aileen Donnelly told the man her decision in the case: she ordered Marques’ extradition to the United States

Justice Aileen Donnelly decided it did not ”infringe on his human or constitutional rights”, and also ruled a decision by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) not to prosecute Marques in Ireland is not reviewable.

Updated: 2015-12-19