Deportation of man with suspected links to terrorism halted

Man in his 50s was previously in jail for having fraudulent travel documents

The Supreme Court has halted, pending further order, the deportation of a man with suspected links to Islamist terrorism.

The three-judge court gave leave on Monday to the man’s lawyers to challenge an order of the High Court last week permitting his deportation on grounds that the case raised a point of general public importance.

It will sit on Thursday to issue a fixed determination order and deal with any ancillary applications including in relation to the status of the man.

The court heard he is currently detained in Cloverhill Prison in Dublin after being arrested on Friday following his release from a sentence for having fraudulent travel documents.

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The deportation order must be executed with a time limit of 56 days, the court heard.

Among the grounds his lawyers advanced were that the Minister for Justice’s decision to deport was in contravention of European law.

The Minister opposed the application.

Following an adjournment to consider the matter, Mr Justice Donal O’Donnell said the court would grant leave but on substantially narrower grounds than had been sought by the applicant. It would sit on Thursday to issue a determination on that.

In the High Court last week, Mr Justice Richard Humphreys refused to grant the man permission to bring an appeal against the Minister’s decision to deport him. That ruling followed the judge’s dismissal earlier in the month of his challenge to the deportation order.

Risk of ill treatment

The man, aged in his 50s and living in Ireland for several years, claims he is at serious risk of ill treatment and torture if deported to his native country.

The deportation order was issued after gardaí informed the Department of Justice activities of the man and his associates are “of serious concern” and “contrary to the State’s security”.

The man, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, denies being involved in terrorism and claims he is at risk due to his political views if deported to his native country.

The court heard he was convicted and jailed in France for several years for terrorist offences.

It was the State’s case the man had been “raising money for jihadists” and he saw “al-Qaeda as a good model to follow”.

He was not only convicted of terrorism offences there but also of offences where human life was taken.

On Friday, Mr Justice Humphreys refused to allow the man bring an appeal to the Court of Appeal and lifted a stay preventing him being removed from the State.

The judge said no point of law of exceptional public importance arose and it was not in the public interest the man be allowed to appeal. His lawyers then made an application directly to the Supreme Court.