November 11 2011

Refusal of refugee status overturned

A boy aged five born here to Serbian parents regarded as Roma has won a High Court order quashing the refusal of the Refugee Appeals Tribunal to grant him refugee status.

Mr Justice Gerard Hogan yesterday quashed the 2009 decision refusing refugee status and directing the boy be returned to Serbia, on grounds including the tribunal’s failure to properly address what was meant by “persecution” under the Refugee Act 1996.

A denial of a right to basic education if returned to Serbia amounted to persecution, he found.

The boy, who is not an Irish citizen, was born in Ireland in 2006 to Serbian parents who are of Ashkali ethnicity and are regarded as Roma.

He had applied for asylum on grounds that, if returned to Serbia, he would suffer persecution. The tribunal member had concluded that she was not persuaded the discrimination would rise to the level of persecution.

Mr Justice Hogan ruled the tribunal member had “erred in law” in her construction of what constitutes persecution.

Link

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September 05 2011

Man still missing after failed deportation

A Congelese man who is due to be deported from Ireland is still missing after he failed to show up to a sitting of the High Court last week.

Toussaint Mbiyavanga was part of a failed deportation flight that had to be turned around mid-way to Africa in July.

He was part of a group of 26 deportees from the Congo and Nigeria who boarded the flight from Dublin bound for Lagos, Nigeria, on July 13.

However, several hours into the flight, the airplane had to turn around after it was refused entry to Algerian airspace because of an error in obtaining flight clearance.

Mr Mbiyavanga had been due to mount a final challenge against his deportation last week. However, the High Court heard he failed to present himself to gardai.

A spokeswoman for the Department of Justice said a subsequent flight for the 26 deportees was arranged for August 16; however, that had to be cancelled before it took off after the Congolese authorities refused to issue a landing permit.

"Many of the intended deportees have since been removed by way of scheduled commercial flights," she added.

Last night, a garda spokesman said they could not comment on individual cases but confirmed that the deportation order was outstanding.

Irish Independent

ICP comment: Why can the Gardaí not have a section on their website saying "wanted for deportation" like they have for missing children?

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