Sudanese man jailed as 'deterrent' after arriving at Dublin Airport with no ID or passport

Tom Tuite

A Sudanese national has been jailed for two months as a "deterrent" for breaking immigration laws after turning up at Dublin Airport arrivals without a passport, identification or travel documents.

Cloverhill District Court heard Monir Dafaallah, 30, was one of about 37 people arrested for similar offences in recent weeks as part of an ongoing Garda National Immigration Bureau operation.

Judge Alan Mitchell heard that Dafaallah presented himself to airport officials on the night of February 12th, saying "he had no travel documents or passport".

Garda Adrian Kelly said the accused provided a name and claimed to be a Sudanese national.

He was arrested in the presence of an interpreter and charged with offences under sections 11 and 12 of the Immigration Act.

The court heard that he had no reply to one charge but said, "I want to go back to my own country", in answer to the second offence.

Judge Mitchell heard the accused pleaded guilty and had no documents, and the garda said: "We have not been able to establish where he arrived from, and he did not indicate any assistance whatsoever".

The garda said he likely arrived from another European destination and agreed with the judge that the accused "would have boarded the flight with such documentation".

The accused had no recorded convictions under the name he provided.

Pleading for leniency, Defence counsel Aisling Ginger-Quinn said her client was from Sudan, but left because he was in fear for his life due to conflict during which he had lost his parents.

Judge Mitchell noted the accused, who listened to the proceedings with the help of an interpreter, did not wish to say why he did not apply for asylum in another country.

He said Dafaallah "somehow or other did not have documents when he arrived".

Imposing a two-month sentence, he added "I have to look on this as a deterrent" to people having documentation getting their flights but not when they arrive at Dublin Airport.

Judge Mitchell remarked: "I have been getting "a lot of these cases".

The court heard Dafaallah's prosecution stemmed from a continuing Garda operation resulting in 37 arrests.

The sentence was backdated to the date of the offence when the accused initially went into custody on remand.