I should like to thank the Ceann Comhairle for allowing me to raise this case on behalf of a hapless Liberian national who has been in custody in our prisons since 25 June last, having committed no crime other than to seek hospitality and asylum in this State. I should also like to thank the Minister of State at the Department of Health, Deputy Flood, for being present to reply to the debate. I hope he will carry my earnest plea for the release of this man at the earliest possible opportunity back to the Minister for Justice.
The case of Mr. Ben Marti Doe is yet another sad indictment of the way the Department of Justice treat aliens. Mr. Ben Marti Doe arrived at Shannon Airport on 25 June of this year on a flight from Jamaica. He sought to claim asylum in this country at Shannon Airport but instead was put in prison. There is still no clear indication of when his case will finally be determined.
Mr. Ben Marti Doe who is a Liberian citizen fled from the Ivory Coast during a most vicious civil war in that country. He states that his wife, two children and mother were killed when their house was bombed. He further states that his father was killed earlier by Government gunmen in the course of the internecine struggle which occurred in his home country of Liberia.
In seeking asylum in Ireland, what crime has Ben Marti Doe committed? Why must he remain in prison? The treatment Mr. Doe received from the Department of Justice has been truly appalling and, in many ways inhuman. Mr Doe was taken from Shannon Airport and placed in Limerick prison after a brief interview with a detective sergeant pending an investigation of his case. The Department of Justice informed him that he was to be deported a week later but this failed because of the refusal of an airline pilot to take him on board a flight back to Jamaica. He was again placed in detention.
The point has to be made here that Mr. Doe did not gain temporary admission into the country and then refuse to leave, or go into hiding, or do what many other foreigners and aliens do. He arrived on a plane from Jamaica and immediately made himself known to the authorities in Shannon and made his case clear — he was seeking asylum. It is regrettable that the Department of Justice do not seem to have in place standard procedures to deal with people like him.
Up to the point when he was put back in detention after an attempt was made to deport him, Mr. Doe had not been informed that he could seek legal advice or support or that he could contact the United Nations High Commission for Refugees. An attempt was made to deport a man from this country without following the basic procedures laid down by the UNHCR and his Irish legal representatives have argued in court that the Department of Justice were in breach of their own agreed procedures in this area made in 1985. He has secured a review by the Minister for Justice of his original expulsion order after two applications to the High Court seeking protection for his basic rights were made on his behalf by solicitors.
The case again highlights the appalling manner in which Ireland treats aliens. There have been many cases of concern at the methods of operation of the aliens section of the Department of Justice acting in a high handed way to people from Third World countries. It would be difficult to imagine a citizen of the United States of America or of Australia being treated like Mr. Doe. Our Government like to boast to the world about our fine democratic system, but clearly these are not intended to apply to aliens who find their way here. Surely we should apply to aliens what we seek for our own citizens forced to live as aliens in the United States of America.
The main points I wish to raise are the need for the Department of Justice to put in place a procedure that is based on the principles laid down by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees and the Council of Europe, a system that would ensure that all applying for refugee status would be informed that they can have legal advice and support and that they can contact the Office of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees in London.
In the case of Mr. Ben Marti Doe I appeal to the Department of Justice to release him from prison as soon as possible, perhaps, on some form of bail, he can regularly report to a Garda station until the Minister has enough evidence to make a final judgment on his case or the situation in Liberia settles down. Here I echo what the United Nations High Commission for Refugees in London said in regard to the position of Mr. Doe in a letter received by the Minister in October 1991. Having said that they cannot obtain enough evidence to finally determine the case one way or the other, they said:
I wish to reiterate that in UNHCR's view it would not be appropriate to return now Mr. Doe to Liberia against his will, considering the situation prevailing in the country at the moment. Accordingly, UNHCR would appreciate if Mr. Doe were allowed to remain in Ireland until the situation in Liberia has sufficiently improved.
I cannot put the matter any clearer than that. I join with the UNHCR and ask the Department to treat this individual with humanity, to release him from prison and allow him to remain in this country, at least until matters resolve themselves in Liberia.
