Trevor Sargent (Dublin North, Green Party)
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Question 96: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the situation regarding the whereabouts of a person (details supplied) who had been the subject of an Amnesty International urgent action as at risk of torture if returned from Syria to Tunisia; the recent interventions by the Government in respect of the person; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34487/06]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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I indicated in my reply to the Deputy on 22 February last that the Syrian authorities had informed our Honorary Consul in Damascus on 14 December 2005 that the person mentioned by the Deputy had been detained in Syria in 2003 on suspicion of travelling on falsified documents, and that he had subsequently been deported to Tunisia on 13 December 2005.

I also indicated that the Irish Embassy in Madrid, following unsuccessful attempts to determine the person's whereabouts by our Honorary Consul in Tunisia, had sent a formal communication to the Tunisian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Embassy has been pursuing the case with the Tunisian authorities in the interim.

The Embassy has recently received a communication from the Tunisian Consul in Madrid which makes serious allegations in relation to the person named by the Deputy.

I have instructed our Ambassador in Madrid to continue to seek from the Tunisian authorities more precise details and greater clarity as to the facts of the case. I have also instructed our Ambassador in Cairo, who is accredited to Syria, to seek further information from the Syrian authorities. Departmental officials will also review the case with the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform. I will revert to the Deputy when I receive any further relevant information.