The High Court gave leave yesterday for an inquiry to be held today under Article 40 of the Constitution into the legality of the detention a Pakistani businessman, Mr Mohammed Ali, who was detained following his arrival at Dublin Airport on Sunday afternoon.
The application for leave was made in an affidavit presented by his first cousin, Ms Snowber Sahota, who is a British national and lives in England.
Ms Sahota, in her affidavit, said she arrived in Ireland on Sunday to meet Mr Ali, who had advised her two weeks ago that he would be doing business here.
She had intended to meet her cousin socially and she had come with her brother, Pervaz. They learned at approximately 1.30 p.m. on Sunday that Mr Ali was being detained at Dublin Airport.
She was allowed to visit him at 6 p.m. on Sunday and he gave her documents in relation to the visit.
Mr Ali is a former officer with the Sind police in Pakistan and is now a respected businessman, she said. His wife and children resided in Karachi.
Ms Sahota added that, to her knowledge, Mr Ali had never expressed any intention of working in the UK or in the EU.
In her contact with the immigration authorities they had been courteous and understanding. However, she had been distraught and in her anxiety to help she had responded to questioning in a way which did not help her cousin and she was very sorry about that.
She believed the authorities had made a serious mistake which would have grave repercussions for Mr Ali's reputation in Pakistan and might affect his career.
She was aware that Mr Ali was to have challenged the validity of his detention and she was not aware of any valid reason to refuse his entry to Ireland. She instructed solicitors McCann Fitzgerald to represent Mr Ali.
As appeared from Mr Ali's visa, he was granted permission to travel to and enter Ireland for business purposes.
Ms Sahota said that from her discussions with the immigration authorities it appeared they had some misgivings in relation to the validity of Mr Ali's meeting with representatives of Lister Machine Tools Ltd, Bluebell Industrial Estate, Dublin.
In response to his solicitors, the company had verified the validity of invoice documentation provided by Mr Ali to the immigration authorities.
Ms Sahota said she was concerned that Mr Ali was being unlawfully detained.