The planned deportation yesterday of an Algerian national, who says he fled his country after being sought by government forces there and put under pressure to join guerillas, has been halted by order of the High Court.
Mr Samir Lakhlef, with an address in South Circular Road, Dublin, who arrived in Ireland in April 1996, claims his application for refugee status has never been dealt with fairly. He claims he applied for refugee status on the first day of his arrival in Ireland and was told just days later his application would not be entertained. Then, some 18 months later, having been given no opportunity in the meantime to make representations despite written requests from his solicitor, he was informed he was to be deported.
At 4 p.m. yesterday Ms Justice Laffoy granted an interim order restraining his deportation which, according to Mr Lakhlef's counsel, Ms Teresa Blake, was scheduled for that day. The judge also issued leave to seek orders quashing the Minister's decision to deport Mr Lakhlef and directing the Minister to consider the Algerian national's application for refugee status in accordance with the United Nations Convention relating to the Status of Refugees.
Leave to seek a declaration that Mr Lakhlef was entitled to have his application determined in accordance with a 1985 agreement on procedures made between the Minister and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees was also obtained. The judge granted leave to seek a declaration on the grounds that Ireland is a signatory to the UN Refugees Convention (1951) and the 1967 Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees and consequently has a legally binding obligation to consider applications for refugee status.
The grounds also referred to the 1985 agreement between the Minister for Justice and the UN High Commissioner for refugees on a procedure to determine refugee status, and the Minister's failure to observe his obligations.
In an affidavit, Mr Lakhlef said he fled from Algeria in March 1996. He was a member of the Islamic Salvation Front (FIS), which was one of the main opposition parties in Algeria but was now banned by the Algerian government. His involvement was political and he never carried a gun or other weapon.
His father had been jailed for three years and his family did not know where his brother was jailed or if he was still alive. The Algerian police had come to his house seeking him in March 1996 and he had fled. He was helped by the FIS for a time but came under pressure to train as a guerrilla.
He did not wish to be involved in an armed struggle against his fellow Algerians and left. He stowed away on a vessel in Algiers port and arrived in Belgium from where he went to the Netherlands, Britain and, ultimately, Ireland.
He applied for asylum on the day of his arrival during a brief conversation with a Department of Justice official and was told days later his application was not being entertained and a deportation order was being processed. He contacted a solicitor who made representations to have his application dealt with in accordance with the set procedures but his representations were not responded to.
Last June 22nd, he received a letter stating the decision to refuse him permission to remain in Ireland was upheld and his deportation order had been signed. He was never informed if any decision made about him was subject to being upheld, or given an opportunity to present his case fully. He was fearful of being returned to Algeria in light of the increasing instability and human rights abuses there.