An Irish man who has spent seven years in jail in Thailand over the death of a business associate is expected to be released in the coming week as part of an amnesty for nearly 900 foreign citizens currently serving prison sentences there.
Yesterday a spokeswoman for the Department of Foreign Affairs said that Colin Martin, originally from Carrickmacross, Co Monaghan, was expected to be freed as part of celebrations to mark the queen of Thailand's birthday.
Ireland's Embassy in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, which also maintains diplomatic links in Thailand, has been informed that Martin is expected to be among the 900 prisoners, the spokeswoman said.
As part of the annual celebrations to mark the queen's birthday, upwards of 10,000 prisoners with good records of behaviour are released from Thailand's jails in a general amnesty.
Martin, who was initially sentenced to 20 years for the killing of a New Zealand national in 1997, is currently in the Bangkok "Hilton" prison.
Conditions at the prison are notorious and have been highlighted in western media because of the presence of a significant number of western and European prisoners, many of whom were jailed under the stringent anti-drug-trafficking laws in force in Thailand.
Martin's release follows a five-year campaign by supporters and family.
The campaign succeeded in having his sentence reduced to 10 years following a court appeal. It has also been providing financial support to secure Martin basic necessities and healthcare while in jail. He has contracted tuberculosis during his incarceration.
Welcoming his release, Mr John Mulcahy, publisher of Phoenix magazine, who has been leading the campaign, said Martin would have been due for parole in any case. "Despite our efforts, he didn't get any concessions," he said.
The campaign lobbied the Minister for Foreign Affairs, who raised Martin's case with the authorities in Thailand via letter.
Martin was arrested in 1997 for the murder of a New Zealand national, Mr Brett Holdsworth, who died from knife wounds.
He has claimed he was the victim of a business confidence trick by the New Zealander which effectively destroyed his own business.
However, he has always maintained his innocence in relation to the death of Mr Holdsworth, and said that a confession to the murder was made after he was tortured by police.
During his time in prison Martin has been helped and visited by a number of Irish people, including Sister Louise Horgan, a nun with the Good Shepherd congregation, who was working alongside the Catholic organisation, the Commission for Irish Prisoners Overseas.