The High Court is seeking further information from Greek authorities before ruling on the extradition of an Irish 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, who is alleged to have attempted to facilitate the smuggling of 66 Middle Eastern people to Italy by speedboat, told the court that overcrowding in one Greek prison had been recorded at 164%.
Lawyers for the State said that any issues raised about the levels of overcrowding and violence that the 56-year-old could experience if he is surrendered needed to be addressed by Greece.
It is alleged that Mr O’Brien, of Yellow Brick House, Roche’s Road, Rathkeale in Co Limerick, and two other named people, acted jointly, on 22 November 2017, to facilitate the transportation of 66 people, without life jackets, from a desert area near Nafplio in Greece to Italy.
Their boat became stranded on a rocky shore, close to Gerolimenas in Greece.
When Mr O’Brien was first brought before the court last November, Detective Garda Tony Keane gave evidence that the group of 66 people was made up of 30 men (24 from Iraq, four from Syria, and two from Iran), 14 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 they paid between $4,000 and $6,000 each for the trip.
When Mr O’Brien came before the High Court in January, counsel for the State, Brian Gageby, said 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.
It was alleged, he said, that Mr O’Brien had placed the occupants in intentional danger, meaning this came under the offence of endangerment.
Greek prison conditions ‘an affront to human dignity’
Simon Matthews, on behalf of the respondent, said that his objection to the application for extradition was due to the conditions in Greek prisons.
He said that an “incredibly insightful” report from the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture in 2022 described the conditions as sub-satisfactory due to overcrowding, a lack of space, inter-prisoner violence, intimidation and an overall unsafe environment.
There had been a lack of progress made since the report, Mr Matthews said, and no tangible improvement in the treatment of prisoners, who are held in conditions that are “an affront to their human dignity”.
He identified a lack of government funding in Greek prisons, leading to concerns about Mr O’Brien’s basic human rights.
Mr Matthews asked the court to allow Greece time to respond to the issues raised, so it could confirm the conditions under which the respondent would be detained.
Mr Gageby said 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 that Mr O’Brien would be held in, the remaining issues of overcrowding and violence needed to be addressed by Greece.
Mr Gageby said that a number of rural prisons in the country are below capacity, but these are designed for people who are convicted, and may not be available to the respondent.
He said that it is up to the Greek authorities to confirm that they can accommodate the respondent in line with his human rights.
Mr Justice Sean Gillane said there was “an information deficit” from Greece and it had to be given the opportunity to reply to the concerns raised.
Defence counsel and the State agreed 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 held.
Mr O’Brien was remanded on bail and the case adjourned until 8 July.