Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 28 January 2014
159. Deputy Finian McGrath asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the reason no real progress has been made on a case (details supplied) with the authorities in Sri Lanka; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3624/14]
View answerThe latest information that my Department has received from the Sri Lankan authorities is that the individual in question may be released this week. We are awaiting confirmation of this development. The individual named by the Deputy has been detained in Sri Lanka since 5 September 2007. No charge was brought against him until 29 January 2013. Since his imprisonment, both I, and my predecessor as Minister, have written to the Sri Lankan Minister for External Affairs on five occasions; in July 2008, December 2009, October 2011, June 2012 and February 2013. In each of these letters it was stressed that the individual should either be charged and brought to trial or released. In addition, our Ambassador raised the case on many occasions with various Sri Lankan Government Ministers. The individual has been visited in prison on numerous occasions by Embassy officials, including the Ambassador, who travelled from India, as well as the Honorary Consul in Colombo.
On 10 May 2013, following an agreement with the Sri Lankan authorities, the individual named by the Deputy read a statement in court outlining his dealings with the LTTE. In return for this the Sri Lankan authorities had agreed to reduce the charges against him and to impose a sentence of one year of rehabilitation, following a guilty plea to these lesser charges. On 16 May a further hearing took place and the individual was sentenced to one month in prison followed by 12 months rehabilitation.
As a consequence of a meeting between the Head of the Consular Division and the wife of the individual named by the deputy, our Embassy made a formal request for a prison visit in December 2013 but did not receive the required permission in time to go ahead with it. Our Ambassador did however travel to Sri Lanka in December and raised the case with the authorities there and in particular our desire for an early consular prison visit. Embassy officials will visit Sri Lanka in early February 2014 and an official request for a visit has been made. A reply from the Sri Lankan authorities is awaited. Our Embassy has also sought written confirmation of the sentence imposed and again a reply from the Sri Lankan authorities is awaited. The wife of the individual has been kept informed of these developments.
I wish to assure the Deputy that my officials remain in close contact with the individual’s wife and family and liaise directly with them on any request for assistance or on any development on this case. The Ambassador and officers in the Embassy in New Delhi, which is accredited to Sri Lanka, and the Honorary Consul in Colombo, have also been very active in pursuit of progress in this difficult case. I wish to assure the Deputy that all possible consular assistance will continue to be provided and that my officials will continue to liaise with the individual’s family.
