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| Orla Lynch |
Ideologies are like horoscopes — everyone takes what they want from them. The choice to engage in extremist violence is based on myriad factors; ideology is one element, but so is opportunity, peer pressure, boredom, bravado and family involvement.
The term “far right” is increasingly used as a label for any activism that incorporates among other things racism, xenophobia, misogyny, (ultra)nationalism, populism and Islamophobia; the phrase “extreme far right” is usually used when violence is involved. While there may be a moral argument for using the far-right label to call out all instances of racism, hate speech and hate crime, it does have the effect of clouding the nature and extent of the far right as a movement in its own right.
The issue of the far right in Ireland has resurfaced once again with the riots in Dublin last week. Explanations for the disorder range from framing it as a legitimate response to the violence witnessed against the children and their carers in Parnell Square, to opportunistic looting instigated and antagonised by a small group of far-right agitators looking to manipulate events.
Continue reading @ Sunday Times.
1 - With government incompetence like this, the scum of the far right will continue to grow:
ReplyDelete"The primary suspect in last week's stabbing attack in Dublin had his application to remain in the state supported by two Irish NGOs, Gript Media can reveal. While the suspect cannot be named as he has yet to face any legal charges, the broad background of how he came to be living in Ireland is made clear in court records seen by Gript Media.
Those court records outline an almost decade-long legal saga, involving two Justice Ministers, multiple court applications, and a consistent pattern of refused applications on behalf of the suspect.
The suspect arrived in Ireland in August, 1999, and applied for asylum on the basis of what he claimed was a fear of being tortured by an Islamic Militant Group – the GIA (Groupe Islamique Armé) – if returned to Algeria. He told Irish authorities that he had been working in Algeria as a canteen assistant with an oil company, and that in the course of his work he had been kidnapped and tortured by four members of the GIA in late 1998 or early 1999. He claimed that this torture had taken place in order to get him to reveal details about a family member who worked for the Algerian Government.
The processing of the asylum application took two years. In August 2001, the suspect was informed by the authorities that he had received a negative recommendation for asylum. The suspect was then invited to make applications "in the ordinary way" outlining why, despite this negative recommendation, he should nevertheless be granted leave to remain.
He made no such application.
In 2003, two years after his application was refused, a deportation order was signed by the then Minister for Justice, now Senator, Michael McDowell. This order was conveyed by letter in March 2003. The suspect was ordered to present himself to the Garda National Immigration Bureau to arrange his deportation within a week of receiving the letter with the deportation order. By this time he had been in Ireland for almost four years.
He did not attend to arrange his own deportation, and was then classified by the authorities as an evader, meaning the Gardai were authorised to apprehend him. This, however, did not happen."
2 - "Indeed the suspect remained living openly in Ireland, and at an unknown date sought the assistance of two Irish NGOs working in the Asylum sector with his case. Both these NGOs continue to work in Ireland today, and one is relatively well known.
ReplyDeleteBetween May 2003, and February 2004, court records show that several unsuccessful applications were made on behalf of the suspect – now under new legal representation – for extra time for an application for leave to remain, and for a quashing of the deportation order.
Each of these was refused by the courts. The state's submissions noted that the suspect had repeatedly given inconsistent answers in relation to his case and that there were questions about his credibility.
However, the two NGOs, which Gript is not in a position to name openly due to legal issues around the present stabbing case, helped the suspect make yet another application, this time on the basis that the Minister had erred in law by not granting asylum.
One of the NGOs submitted to the courts a medical report which it claimed showed the lasting physical and psychological effects of the suspect's alleged torture in Algeria.
The Irish state, in response, argued that while it accepted the the suspect had clearly endured torture in late 1998 or early 1999, the alleged torture had not been carried out by the Algerian state and that as such the suspect had nothing to fear in his home country. The state also argued that no new facts had been presented supporting the suspect's case. By way of background, by this time the GIA – accused of carrying out the torture – was no longer an operational group in Algeria.
This court application also failed, and Minister McDowell reaffirmed the deportation order in October 2004. Despite that, two further years passed without the deportation order being carried out, and the suspect continued to live openly in Ireland with the deportation order in place, but unexecuted.
The suspect made a further application to challenge the order in 2006. This, too, was rejected, and he was denied leave to do so by the courts. The deportation order remained in effect. The suspect continued to live in Ireland.
In 2008, a further application was made to the Minister for Justice – by this time Fianna Fáil's Brian Lenihan – to exercise his discretion and to grant an application for subsidiary protection for the suspect, which would grant him leave to remain in Ireland. The Minister, again, refused this application and the deportation order was reaffirmed. It had now been in place for five years, unenforced.
In that same year, the suspect challenged the Minister, again in the High Court, and again supported by the evidence of one of the two NGOs, on the grounds that the Minister had unfairly refused to use his discretion.
The main argument in that case was that the Minister for Justice's refusal to exercise discretion and grant the suspect leave to remain in Ireland was an arbitrary decision, and inconsistent with previous decisions in similar cases. There was a specific argument made that the Minister, by refusing to use said discretion, had acted in a discriminatory manner because discretion had been granted to others – an argument described by the court as "unattractive".
However, the court ruled that the Minister had erred by not noting the differences in the legal meaning of "serious harm" which arose on foot of a court ruling in 2007, and decided that a new and expanded definition of that phrase adopted by the courts should have been considered by the Minister in light of the 2008 application. It is notable that this new definition was not in place at the time of the original order, or at the time of any application made by the suspect up until 2008."
3 - "At each step, until the 2008 court decision, the state firmly opposed any and all efforts to grant the suspect leave to remain in Ireland. For nine years, he had lived here without permission to remain. However, it should be noted that no efforts are on record of the state attempting to enforce the deportation order which was live, and in place, for a full five years. For a period of time, the suspect was classified as an "evader" – somebody who is actively evading the law and avoiding their own deportation.
ReplyDeleteNevertheless, and arguably as a result, it came to be that the state was compelled, finally, to grant subsidiary protection, and leave to remain. The suspect later became a naturalised Irish citizen. Gript Media understands that he was never able to hold down a job in Ireland, and was provided with housing by at least one Irish NGO, separate to the NGOs that aided him in his legal battle against deportation. He remains in a grave condition in a Dublin hospital, and Gript Media understands that he is not in a fit state to be arrested or questioned in connection with the events of last Thursday.
The NGOs involved with the suspect's case have been contacted for further comment."
The Gript account has been challenged
ReplyDeleteIf true that Gript didn't properly fact check this beforehand, then that is a disgrace and utterly irresponsible to link this case to the stabbings:
DeleteHowever, the Mirror article doesn't reassure me:
"Gardai are understood to be extremely concerned about the spreading of false information and are set to approach those suspected of spreading it. Officers are understood to be set to approach those who published or spread the false information in an effort to combat misinformation."
Another push for a hate speech/misinformation bill.
Christopher,
DeleteEven if Gript's assertion that their previously reliable source within the police fed them a false story is true, surely it's irrelevant because ultimately the onus is on the publication to check and double check their sources?
Bleakley,
DeleteI would agree and disagree with you on that. Let me explain:
1 - You are correct that the onus is on the publication to check and double check. According to Gript, a Garda was the source for the claim and it was run by a senior justice official. Whether Gript did so with any vigor, we'll find out.
2 - I would disagree that it is irrelevant they were fed a false story. In circumstances like this, it is important to tell the truth for there to be any confidence in the Garda and the government, being caught feeding false information (whatever the motive) doesn't help.
Some have been celebrating this as an own goal but, by not denying that the lengthy tale isn't true, some lefties have set a landmine for themselves to trod upon in the future as it offers proof that the system is inept, unwieldy and costly.
[url="https://t.co/uvA0KW65MG"]Gript Comment[/url]
ReplyDeletethat link didn't take us anywhere Christopher.
DeleteSorry, I'll get the hang of this one day!
Deletehttps://gript.ie/exclusive-the-stabbing-suspects-deportation-saga/