A detective superintendent has been appointed to investigate allegations of torture against senior members of the Chinese government, according to the Garda Síochána.
This follows an unsuccessful attempt by practitioners of the Falun Gong spiritual movement, outlawed in China, to have the Chinese deputy prime minister, Mr Huang Ju, arrested to face charges of torture when he visited Ireland two weeks ago.
An application was brought to the Dublin District Court by Mr Ming Zhao, a Falun Gong practitioner who was granted refugee status in Ireland after he was imprisoned and tortured in China for his beliefs. He brought the action under the Criminal Justice (UN Convention on the Prevention of Torture) Act, 2000, which incorporated the UN Convention on Torture into Irish law.
Under this Act, the Irish authorities could prosecute a person accused of torture anywhere in the world as if it had taken place in Ireland, counsel for Mr Ming, Mr Bill Shipsey SC, told the court two weeks ago. Mr Huang had engaged in a conspiracy to commit torture against Mr Ming, who had been tortured at the hands of the authorities, he said.
During the hearing Mr Shipsey told the court that the Commissioner of An Garda Síochána had been informed of the evidence against Mr Huang the previous weekend.
The Commissioner told Mr Ming's solicitor that a special investigator had been appointed to look into it, but that the investigation had not yet begun.
Judge Cormac Dunne said he saw from the evidence that the Chinese government had conceded detention, but not torture. As the information had been laid before the Garda Commissioner before going to court, the judge said he felt the Garda investigation should continue and he refused the application.
Mr Ming's solicitor, Ms Helen McGovern, told The Irish Times yesterday she was informed before the case was heard that Chief Supt Niall Donoghue and Det Supt P. J. Browne of Pearse Street Garda Station had been nominated by the Garda Commissioner to investigate the allegations.
However, when she contacted Chief Supt Donoghue, he was unaware of his role, and she was told Supt Browne was out of the country. She said she had received no communication since from the Garda about the progress of the investigation.
However, when contacted by The Irish Times, Chief Supt Donoghue said the investigation was being handled by Supt John McKeown of Store Street Garda Station, as Supt Browne had been away.
When The Irish Times tried to contact Supt McKeown, it was told he was on leave for the next few days. Ms McGovern said she had not been informed that he was now in charge of the investigation.
Meanwhile, Mr Ming has given the Irish authorities 102 names of senior Chinese officials alleged to have been implicated in the torture of Falun Gong practitioners. "As pioneers in the area of human rights, we believe the Irish Government will not allow them to land in Ireland," he said.