The High Court has found that a London-based rabbi accused of carrying out a circumcision on a young child without being registered as a medical practitioner is being lawfully detained in an Irish prison.
The High Court had late last week directed an inquiry, under Article 40.4.2 of the Irish Constitution, into the detention of 47-year-old Rabbi Jonathan Abraham.
He had claimed that his human rights were breached at Cloverhill Prison, where he is currently remanded in custody.
He claimed his rights were being breached due to the prison’s failure to provide him with Kosher food, which is food prepared in accordance with Jewish religious beliefs.
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Kosher food is the only food he can eat, and following his incarceration his diet had been extremely limited.
He had further claimed that his rights were breached due to the prison’s failure to allow him to use certain religious apparatus called Tefillin, which consists of two small leather boxes attached to leather straps, which are integral to his and other observant Jews’ religious practice.
The prison denied that he was being held unlawfully but accepted that there had been failings on its part to provide him with Kosher food.
During the hearing of the inquiry the prison said it has taken steps to rectify all the issues raised by the Rabbi.
In her judgement on Sunday Ms Justice Nuala Jackson held that a deficiency in the rules regarding the operation of Irish prisons had occurred in this case.
However, the court found that the conditions of the detention did not require the Rabbi to be released from custody.
The level of wrong required to bring his detention in to question was very high, she said, and required the conditions of detention to amount to a deliberation violation of constitutional rights or inhumane or degrading treatment to seriously endanger life or health where the prison authorities intend to do nothing about it.
This was not something that had occurred in the case before the court, the judge held.
The authorities had openly made certain admissions on their shortcomings in this matter, and had indicated in a very comprehensive manner how these issues are to be addressed, the judge said.
The Rabbi, she said, is a dedicated and committed member of the Jewish faith and his devotion had impressed the court.
The judge said that given the usual circumstances of the case and in light of her findings, she was prepared to direct the State to pay 50 per cent of the Rabbi’s legal costs.
The Rabbi’s action was against the Governor of Cloverhill Prison, who was represented by counsel Matthew Holmes Bl.
The Rabbi, a married man with 10 children, is charged with carrying out a surgical procedure, male circumcision on a child, without being a registered medical practitioner at an address in Dublin 15, which is contrary to the 2007 Medical Practitioners Act.
He was arrested in Dublin, late last month, and was subsequently denied bail by the District Court.
The State objected to bail on the grounds of the seriousness of the offence and that the accused was a flight risk.
If convicted of the offence the Rabbi could face a prison term of up to five years, and a maximum fine of €130,000.
He has an appeal pending against the refusal to grant him bail, which is due to be heard later this month.
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