FOUR YEARS ago yesterday Pamela Izevbekhai first entered the State with her two daughters and sought refugee status.
That application was rejected and she has lost several challenges but her battle is not over yet.
She faced certain deportation with her children last year, were it not for a last-minute intervention by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) on November 18th.
On that day, Mr Justice John Hedigan found there was no reason to grant an injunction stopping her deportation until her application for subsidiary protection was decided.
An earlier judicial review challenge by Ms Izevbekhai to her deportation was rejected by Mr Justice Kevin Feeney last January and last March he refused permission to appeal that decision to the Supreme Court.
Ms Izevbekhai’s lawyers appealed that refusal to the ECHR and after Mr Justice Hedigan gave the green light to the deportation, the Strasbourg court asked that the Government not deport the family until it had considered her arguments. A ruling is not expected for several months.
Ms Izevbekhai’s second hope lies in an appeal of yesterday’s decision to the Supreme Court. However, it could take up to a year before the case is heard. If her case is rejected by the European court, she could be deported before the Supreme Court case is heard.
Her final hope lies in the hands of Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern.
