Asylum seeker accused of rape not a flight risk

AN asylum seeker charged with rape was granted bail after he was deemed not to be a flight risk, despite objections by gardaí.
The 24-year-old man appeared before last week’s sitting of Castlebar District Court. An African national, he is currently a resident in a Direct Provision centre after applying for asylum in 2014.
Inspector Paudie O’Shea told the court he was applying for the defendant to be remanded in custody on grounds of the seriousness of the charge. He also said that he considered the accused to be a flight risk.
The court heard that the man arrived in Ireland in 2012 on a student visa to learn English. After his visa expired in 2014, he sought asylum, claiming it was not safe to return to his home country because he took money from drug dealers before leaving for Ireland.
The man’s passport is in the possession of the Department of Justice, but Insp O’Shea said it is still easy to leave the jurisdiction.
The defendant told the court that he was first questioned regarding the allegations in January 2016. He explained that the first college he attended closed and that he attended another college which then also closed. After this occurred, he said, he ran out of money and was living rough before applying for asylum.
He said he wanted to start a new life in Ireland and was prepared to comply with all bail conditions.
His solicitor, Evan O’Dwyer, said that his client had cooperated fully with the Garda investigation and that despite the seriousness of the allegations, he had not attempted to flee the jurisdiction.
Judge Mary Devins agreed that the defendant may be seen as a flight risk due to his status in the country. However, she said that given that he knew about the allegations for a year and had made no attempt to leave Mayo or the Republic of Ireland, she would grant bail subject to conditions.
The conditions include that he sign on daily in his local garda station, have no contact with the injured party or witnesses and notify the Gardaí of any change of address or personal circumstances. The Gardaí are also at liberty to check his whereabouts.
Judge Devins adjourned the matter until February 7 for preparation of the book of evidence.