A Chinese national has taken a High Court challenge to his continuing detention at Cloverhill prison. He was brought there after allegedly resisting being put on board an Aer Lingus aircraft taking about 20 deportees from Dublin airport.
Lawyers for Mr Jian Hang He (23), a student, yesterday secured an order from Mr Justice McKechnie requiring the student's production before the court tomorrow for the purposes of certifying the legality of his detention.
Mr John-Salakov, Mr Jian's legal representative, said moves were made to deport his client because gardaí claimed he was not attending English-language classes.
Mr John-Salakov, who told the court he is an attorney-at-law who graduated in Greece in 1967, said Mr Jian is being detained in Cloverhill under the current immigration laws. He had committed no offence under that legislation, which sets out a number of offences concerning asylum-seekers or aliens. Mr Jian was neither, he submitted.
Mr Jian had come to Ireland to learn English but the gardaí had alleged he did not attend the requisite number of lessons. They took his passport and then arranged for him to reclaim his passport. When he turned up, he was detained and brought on January 18th last to Dublin airport to be returned to China. He put up a struggle and the pilot refused to take him on board.
Mr John-Salakov told the judge they had failed in several attempts to retain a barrister to represent Mr Jian.
Mr Justice Liam McKechnie said he had been in practice for 30 years at the Bar and had been chairman of the Bar Council and he remained seriously unconvinced by Mr John-Salakov's claim.
He had never known a member of the Bar to refuse to help persons who were destitute.
Following the hearing, Mr John-Salakov said Mr Jian's wife, Ms Huang Hua Ling, also an English student, was pregnant and ill.
There had been no attempt to deport her.
Mr John-Salakov said he was a member of the Public Law Centre at Upper Abbey Street, and one of a number of lawyers who described themselves as "lawyers without frontiers" and who are not recognised as qualified to practice in this country.
Mr Justice McKechnie granted an order under Article 40 of the Constitution for the production of Mr Jian before the court on tomorrow when the prison governor will be asked to certify the grounds for his detention.