Mystery over identity of two prisoners
By Brian McDonald , Irish Independent, independent.ie
Even the best efforts of Interpol have failed to identify the pair, who have been behind bars for a number of months.
One of the men has told the authorities that he has no desire to leave his cell and is quite happy to remain there into the future. Both are refusing to co-operate with staff at Castlerea Prison, Co Roscommon, while the gardai and court staff are also in the dark about their true identities.
The men were detained by gardai because they could not produce identification papers. It is believed one of the detainees is from an African country while the other is of eastern European origin, possibly Russian.
The African man made an appearance at Harristown District Court -- the remand facility alongside Castlerea Prison -- on Friday, using the name Kebba Nyabally.
But the court was told that gardai still cannot confirm who he is and if this is his real name.
A detective said that the man had been identified by his fingerprints in the UK, but under a different name.
To date, gardai had established four different names for the prisoner but could not confirm any of them.
Authorities in Gambia, Sierra Leone, Nigeria and the UK had all been contacted but without success.
The second prisoner told gardai his name was Alex Smirnous, but has refused to answer any further questions.
At the Harristown Court hearing, Judge Geoffrey Browne told Mr Smirnous that he planned to remand him in custody for a further three weeks.
"I don't care. Leave me here as long as you want. I don't care if it is 33 weeks," the prisoner told Judge Browne through a Russian interpreter.
The judge noted that neither man could be deported because the court did not know who they were or where they had come from.
Both have been further remanded in custody while enquiries are continuing.
- Brian McDonald