High court delays extradition of Limerick man wanted for alleged human trafficking due to Greek prison overcrowding

Ryan Dunne

The High Court is seeking further information from Greek authorities before ruling on the extradition of a Limerick man wanted on a human trafficking charge, after hearing that jails there are effectively “being run by the prisoners” due to overcrowding.

Barristers for Jeremiah O’Brien (56), who is alleged to have attempted to facilitate the smuggling of 66 Middle Eastern people to Italy by speedboat, told the High Court that overcrowding in one Greek prison had been recorded at 164 per cent.

Lawyers for the State said that any issues raised about the levels of overcrowding and violence O’Brien could experience if he is surrendered needed to be addressed by the Greek state.

It is alleged that O’Brien, of Yellow Brick House, Roche’s Road, Rathkeale, Limerick, and two other named persons acted jointly on November 22nd, 2017, to facilitate the transportation of 66 people, without life jackets, from an unknown desert place near Nafplio, Greece, towards Italy.

That evening, it was discovered that the boat had stranded on a rocky shore near Gyalia beach close to Gerolimenas, Greece.

When O’Brien was first brought before the court last November, Detective Garda Tony Keane gave evidence that the 66 people were 30 adult men (24 from Iraq, four from Syria, and two from Iran), 14 adult women (12 from Iraq, one from Syria, and one from Iran), and 22 children (12 boys from Iraq, one boy from Iran, five girls from Iraq, two girls from Syria, and two girls from Iran).

Det Gda Keane said that these 66 people paid between 4,000 and 6,000 US dollars each.

When O’Brien came before the High Court in January, counsel for the State, Brian Gageby, told the court that the boat used was for pleasure purposes and had capacity for 10 people, with no life jackets on board, meaning there was a risk of it sinking due to overloading.

He said it was alleged that O’Brien had placed the occupants of the boat in intentional danger, meaning this came under the offence of endangerment.

On behalf of O’Brien, Simon Matthews said that his objection to the application for extradition was due to the conditions in Greek prisons.

He said that the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture had prepared an "incredibly insightful" report in 2022 in terms of these prison conditions, which were sub-satisfactory due to overcrowding, a lack of space, inter-prisoner violence, intimidation and an overall unsafe environment.

He said there had been a lack of progress made since the report and no tangible improvement in the treatment of prisoners, who are held in conditions that are “an affront to their human dignity”.

Matthews identified a lack of government funding in prisons in Greece, leading to concerns about O’Brien’s basic human rights.

He asked the court to allow the Issuing Judicial Authority time to respond to the issues raised, so it could confirm the conditions the respondent would be detained in.

It was agreed between both defence counsel and the State that a letter would be sent to the Greek authorities asking them to respond to the concerns raised about the conditions in which the respondent would be detained.

When the case came back before the High Court on Wednesday, Matthews said that overcrowding in one prison had been recorded at 157 per cent, but this has now increased to 164 per cent based on the most recent figures.

Matthews said that the most recent report by the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture highlighted “chronic overcrowding” and inter-prisoner violence, with the prison only functioning because officers are assisted by inmates who carry out prison officer duties.

He said the report indicated that people “were left to fester in prison” and suffered degrading treatment, with little improvement to the living conditions for prisoners in Greece over the past 14 years.

He said that the situation had gotten worse since the last report was carried out in 2022, with no general assurance received from Greek authorities that the respondent would not suffer inhumane treatment.

Concerning the inter-prisoner violence identified, Matthews said that an inmate had been murdered on January 19th last.

On behalf of the State, Gageby said that the staff to prisoner ratio is so low, that effectively “prisons are being run by the prisoners”.

He said that while the Greek authorities had given assurances about the size of the cell the respondent will be held in, the remaining issues of overcrowding and violence needed to be addressed by the issuing state.

Gageby went on to say that there are a number of rural prisons in Greece which are below capacity, although as these are designed for people who are convicted, they may not be available to O’Brien. Counsel said that it is up to the Greek authorities to confirm that they can accommodate the respondent in line with his human rights.

Justice Sean Gillane said there was “an information deficit” from the Greek authorities, so they had to be given the opportunity to reply to the concerns raised.

The matter was adjourned to July 8th, with O’Brien remanded on bail.