About 40 people protested in Dublin today over the alleged maltreatment of a group of Nigerian deportees returned to Ireland last month when a plane they were on developed engine trouble.
Members of the Irish Refugee Council, along with other human rights groups, protested outside the gates of Leinster House as the Dail returned from its Christmas recess.
Some 34 Nigerian nationals, including 12 children, and an Irish citizen child, were returned to Dublin from Athens following a technical fault on a Frontex deportation plane. They were marooned in Athens on December 16th.
They were brought to Dublin on scheduled flights and were accommodated at the Balseskin reception centre in north Dublin.
Chief executive of the Irish Refugee Council Sue Conlan said testimonies collected from the deportees alleged some of them were “subjected to inhumane and degrading treatment”.
“The eight women, 13 children, and 14 men endured long delays, inadequate food and limited access to sanitary facilities until their deportation was aborted in Greece and they were returned to Ireland.”
Ms Conlan said it was alleged the mother of two young children, one of whom is an Irish citizen, was handcuffed and subjected to “possible sedation”.
The council also alleges that on the original deportation flight, the deportees were not allowed to close the doors when they used the toilet.
“These people are not criminals or a danger to society. They are men and women, some with young children.
The Minister for Justice has a responsibility to ensure that their basic human rights are upheld throughout the deportation process, and a duty to investigate any claims of ill-treatment of individuals while in the care of the state.”
Ireland was also the only country of the several EU countries aboard the Frontex flight to deport children, she said.
The council called for an independent inquiry leading to a review of deportation practice and procedures. It is also seeking a halt to all deportations pending an independent review of deportation procedures.
Ms Conlan said Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern had “failed to adequately respond” to concerns raised about the matter in a letter of December 22nd last.
A spokesman for the Minister said he "totally rejected" any suggestion that the deportees had been in any way mistreated.
He said there were "set procedures and ground rules" for such deportations and they were followed in this case.
It was "unfortunate" that the December flight, which was shared with seven or eight other countries, had broken down in Athens, the spokesman said.
Where people had exhausted procedures seeking to remain in Ireland and they remained here unlawfully, the State had to deport them.
All such deportation flights had Garda officers and medical staff on board. "There are set procedures and ground rules and all of those procedures would be followed."
It is understood those scheduled for deportation remain here until another flight can be arranged. Such flights are shared by a number of European partners to reduce cost.