Gardai in Ennis, Co Clare, are to be the subject of a complaint following claims that a Latvian national received "inhumane" treatment from them while being deported earlier this week.
Ms Marina Bilalova (33), the partner of Mr Roman Adash kevich (29), who was placed on a flight to Moscow at Shannon Airport on Monday, said last night that she intended to file a complaint about the manner in which Mr Adashkevich was deported.
Ms Bilalova, a Ukrainian national, said that her partner, who claimed asylum in May 1996, became aware of his impending deportation to Russia only 12 hours before the flight to Moscow, when he was shown a ministerial order for his deportation at Ennis Garda station.
Ms Bilalova alleged that Mr Adashkevich was lured to the station under false pretences. She said: "Gardai called to our home at 12 noon on Sunday asking if Roman could pick his passport at the station, that there was a little problem. However, he wasn't here. At 6 p.m., three gardai called back, asking if Roman would come down to the station to clear up a problem. Roman wasn't here at the time and when we went down between 8 p.m. and 9 p.m. to find out the problem he was shown the ministerial order and handcuffed."
Alleging that her partner had been treated inhumanely by the gardai, Ms Bilalova added that he had been unable to contact his solicitors or the Irish Refugee Council, or to return to his apartment to collect his belongings. She said: "If I was not there, he would have left the country with no money, no clothes, nothing."
In response to claims that Mr Adashkevich received "inhumane" treatment from the gardai, a spokesman at Ennis Garda station said last night: "We are not aware of any complaints made by anyone in relation to the man calling to the station."
He added: "Gardai called to a number of addresses in the town on Sunday seeking Mr Adash kevich and as a result of making those inquiries he came to the station voluntarily on Sunday night."
A spokesman for the Department of Justice confirmed that a letter had not been sent to Mr Adashkevich informing him of his deportation. He said: "The procedure is that one letter is sent to the gardai and one is sent to the asylum-seeker's legal representative, or direct to the asylum-seeker, if he or she is representing him or herself. If the order goes to the asylum-seeker's legal advisers, it is down to them to inform the asylum-seeker."
The incident has caused anxiety among other asylum-seekers in Ennis, according to Ms Orla Ni Eili, of the Irish Refugee Council, who expressed concern at the manner of the deportation.
Mr Robin Hanan, co-ordinator of Comhlamh, an organisation campaigning for rights for asylum-seekers, described the procedure for handling deportations as "unfair and inhumane" and said that they should be suspended until a fair and independent procedure was put in place.
Mr Hanan added that the deportation of Mr Adashkevich was "a textbook case of unfair and inhumane procedures".