Brazilian anger over students in Mountjoy

A DIPLOMATIC row has broken out between Ireland and Brazil over the detention in Mountjoy Prison of three students who were trying to enter the Republic, The Irish Timeshas learned.

The students were refused permission to enter via Dublin airport last weekend.

Since then the case has become a national news story back in Brazil.

It has led to the police there being called to investigate a bomb threat at the Irish Embassy in the capital Brasilia. The embassy has received threats by telephone and via the postal service.

A delegation from the Brazilian embassy in Dublin yesterday met with senior officials from the Department of Foreign Affairs. The Brazilian officials registered the concerns of their government relating to the treatment of the three students, particularly their detention in Mountjoy Prison.

The episode began last weekend when three Brazilian students in their early 20s decided to travel from their base in Portugal to Ireland.

It was their intention to stay in Dublin for the weekend and return to Portugal, where they are attending university.

However, all three were stopped and questioned at Dublin airport by immigration officers from the Garda National Immigration Bureau.

The gardaí were not satisfied with the students' claims that they were residing in Portugal, attending university there and were simply visiting Dublin for a short holiday.

The Irish Timesunderstands the gardaí believed the students did not have enough money to sustain themselves in Dublin.

Immigration officers have been refusing an increasing number of Brazilian nationals permission to land here.

It is suspected that a large number of Brazilians admitted to the State in recent years have used the freedom of travel between Ireland and the UK to enter the UK illegally and stay on there.

When the students were stopped at the airport, they were questioned for a short period before being taken to Mountjoy Prison. They were held there for two days.

The Irish Timesunderstands they have since been returned to Portugal.

While the matter has received no publicity in Ireland until now, it has been a major national news story in Brazil for the past week. Arising from the news coverage the Irish Embassy in Brasilia has received a bomb threat by phone.

Ambassador Michael Hoey and his staff have also received threats in the post.

The incidents have been brought to the attention of the Brazilian police and a criminal investigation has begun. A number of police officers have already interviewed the embassy's staff.