A family of four and an army deserter were told in the High Court yesterday that they were entitled to a judicial review of the Minister for Justice's refusal of their applications for asylum.
The court was told that Georgian nationals, Mr Michael and Ms Sophie Lomidze, and their two children, along with Mr Oktay Gasimovich Zilfugarov, from Azerbaijan, attempted to enter the State on December 22nd, 1995, at Rosslare port, Co Wexford.
Mr Justice Geoghegan said the Minister refused their applications because they arrived from a "safe" third country (France) and had previously had an application for asylum turned down by the Netherlands.
The Lomidzes claimed they would be arrested and imprisoned without charge if sent back to Georgia. Mr Zilfugarov claimed to have deserted the Azerbaijani army and claimed he faced either imprisonment or death if returned.
In his reserved judgment, the judge said that, following a recent Supreme Court decision, he believed the applicants should not be refused entry until given an opportunity to present their case. If refused, they should be told of the reasons for the refusal.
In another case involving three Vietnamese nationals, Mr Justice Geoghegan said the Department had been correct in not immediately entertaining a substantive application for asylum.
