The family of a Co Donegal student who has returned home after spending more than a month in a Senegalese jail have appealed to the media to respect their privacy.
Queen's University Belfast student Patrick Devine (19) was convicted of public indecency yesterday arising out of an incident in which he allegedly dropped his trousers in front of a local governor's house.
He arrived home to Dunfanaghy in Donegal on Tuesday, in advance of the court hearing in the west African state.
In his absence, the court ordered him to pay a fine of about €220. He also received a four-month suspended sentence after being convicted of public indecency in the coastal city of Saint Louis. The teenager's lawyer, Moustapha Diop, said his client deeply regretted his act.
Mr Devine, an engineering student in Belfast, spent almost four weeks behind bars after his arrest on July 27th.
He is understood to have shared a bedless cell with 40 other prisoners, before being granted unconditional bail by a court of appeal in Dakar last week.
He had been working for the summer with the Teaching and Projects Abroad organisation as a street volunteer helping deprived Senegalese children. He was reportedly responding to a series of dares when the prank went wrong. The student was spotted by a local man who restrained him until police arrived. His family released a brief statement yesterday appealing to the media to respect their privacy.
"The decision by the court in Saint Louis today brings final closure to Patrick's ordeal in Senegal," the statement read.
"The family are relieved that the matter is now fully resolved and wish to sincerely thank everybody for their unwavering support shown over the past four weeks. Patrick needs a period of time to recuperate and we respectfully ask for privacy."
Irish diplomats based at the Irish Embassy in neighbouring Nigeria had been liaising with Mr Devine, while Minister for Foreign Affairs Dermot Ahern had assured his mother Noreen that everything was being done to secure his release. - (Additional reporting: PA)