Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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93. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he has discussed the issue of the continued incarceration of a person (details supplied) in an Israeli prison and the recent ruling against an open trial with his counterparts across Europe; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14031/18]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I refer the Deputy to my reply earlier today to Question No 50 in relation to this case, to which I would add the following: This case and its recent conclusion have not been specifically discussed at Ministerial level meetings in the EU. However, EU Missions in Palestine, including Ireland’s, have cooperated closely in following and reporting on the progress of the case. Irish or other EU representatives arranged to be present at almost all of the hearings in relation to the case. The ruling against an open trial was indeed a matter of concern, although in the event it was almost immediately superseded by the conclusion of the case following an apparent plea bargain agreement.

There are of course often grounds for a case involving a minor to be held in private. But in this case the observers to be excluded would have been there largely with the consent and in support of the family.

It would be unacceptable if the operation of military justice under an occupation regime were to exclude outside observers who are welcomed by the defendants and their families. The presence of EU and other observers at such proceedings has provided at least some degree of independent scrutiny of proceedings.