Russell seeks political asylum in Ireland

DUBLIN, Ireland – An American fugitive who spent years living in Ireland under an alias has applied for political asylum here, despite an Irish Supreme Court judgment to extradite him to Washington state, his lawyer said Friday.

Frederick Russell, 27, applied for asylum under newly broadened regulations signed into law this week by the Irish government allowing people who do not fit the traditional definition of a refugee to apply for political asylum if they face a real risk of serious harm if returned to their own countries.

The Irish Supreme Court on Thursday upheld a May 23 ruling by Ireland’s second-highest court ordering Russell’s extradition to Washington, where he faces three charges of vehicular manslaughter in connection with a 2001 car accident. He was expected to be extradited within 15 days and remains in custody.

Under Irish law, all applicants for refugee status are scheduled for an interview as the next step of the process. But it is unclear whether Russell will remain in Ireland, or for how long.

Russell’s attorney, Derek Burke, said he would appear in court next week to ask the government to prevent U.S. officials from taking Russell until his asylum application has been fully processed and a decision is made.

“Anything I will do to keep him here, I will do it,” Burke said.

Russell’s lawyers claimed during extradition proceedings that Russell faced inhumane and degrading treatment – such as rape and isolated confinement – in the U.S. prison system. They also argued that Russell’s sentence in the U.S. would be harsher than in Ireland, where life sentences average about 131/2 years.

But lawyers for the Irish government pointed to accident reports that say Russell had a blood-alcohol level of 0.12 after he allegedly struck three cars while driving at 90 mph on the Idaho-Washington border on June 4, 2001. The collision killed three Washington State University students and injured three others.

Russell fled while on bail in October 2001 and appeared on the Web site of the U.S. Marshals’ “15 most wanted” list before Irish police arrested him in October 2005.