Protest over Irish man in French jail

THE FAMILY and friends of a Co Tipperary man held without charge in a French prison have demonstrated outside the Department of Foreign Affairs in Dublin, calling for his release on humanitarian grounds.

Paul Barrett (38) from Fethard has been detained in Lille since March. French customs authorities impounded the truck he was driving after discovering an estimated six million cigarettes inside. Mr Barrett was questioned and allowed to return home but arrested a week later when he went back to Caen to collect the vehicle for his employers.

He has been detained without charge while an investigation is under way by French authorities and is due to appear in court on November 17th. Under French law, a person suspected of a crime can, in certain circumstances, be jailed while a judge investigates the case.

About 20 family members and friends protested outside Iveagh House, calling for his release. His mother, Joan Barrett, said her son was not in good health, was underweight and surviving on chocolate and cornflakes. He could not eat the prison food, she said adding that he was “totally innocent. Why would he have gone back if he had anything do to with it?”

The family was seeking his temporary release on humanitarian grounds. “We want to get him well. The Minister can hold his passport. We will bring him back to France. Is that too much to ask? The gardaí have investigated him and he doesn’t even have a single traffic fine or parking ticket,” she said.

His brother Ken Barrett said Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin had told the family he could not interfere in the French justice system. “We’re not asking him to interfere in their justice system but to release him on humanitarian grounds.”

The family was also concerned to have him home because his father had suffered two major heart attacks.

Ambrose Hanrahan, his brother-in-law, said: “Mr Martin is the only one who can get him released.”

Mr Barrett claimed nobody was visiting his brother in France and “somebody should be visiting him every week to check he’s okay”.

He claimed the department had “severed contact” with the family. A spokesman for the Minister said, however, that the department “has had an extremely high level of contact with Mr Barrett’s family since his detention began on all consular matters associated with the case” and “will continue to liaise with the French authorities on Mr Barrett’s behalf and will continue to keep in contact with the Barrett family on all further developments”.

The spokesman added that there was a “clear distinction between consular assistance, which we do and can provide, and legal proceedings in another jurisdiction, which is not appropriate for us to interfere with”.

Mr Barrett’s sister and brother-in-law had visited him six weeks ago. Ms Barrett said she had not travelled to France. “I wouldn’t be able for it and it would be worse for him.”

The department said consular visits were made to Mr Barrett by Embassy staff, and interventions were “made on his behalf with the prison doctor, the prison psychologist, the prison social worker and the prison kitchens”.