Holland not allowed to meet ‘Devil’s advocate’
Patrick “Dutchy” Holland, who claims he is the victim of a miscarriage of justice following his trafficking conviction, has been told he cannot have the meetings with Giovanni Di Stefano.
The colourful but controversial Mr Di Stefano has begun acting on behalf of Mr Holland, though he is not registered with the Law Society, the governing body for solicitors, either here or in Britain.
Mr Di Stefano is a trained avvocato, an Italian lawyer, but is understood not to have taken a transfer test to be recognised as a legal representative in Ireland.
However, one of the lawyer’s clients took a High Court challenge in Britain after a prison governor refused to allow a private meeting.
He won the case as the High Court ruled that an Italian lawyer has a right to the same courtesy that British lawyers would expect to receive from Italian authorities.
In a letter sent from Portlaoise Prison, Holland said: “The prison governor has not allowed Mr Di Stefano to give advice to me in private.
“When any legal adviser comes to see a prisoner he is allowed to be in an interview out of hearing of a member of staff.
“If even a clerk from any solicitor’s office came in to see a prisoner, that visit would be conducted in the sight of a member of staff but out of his hearing.”
Di Stefano is dubbed the “Devil’s Advocate” as he has represented some of the world’s most notorious individuals and claimed to have been part of Saddam Hussein’s legal team until last month.
Holland said he is preparing a judicial review application for a hearing on the issue.
The 63-year-old, who is due out of prison next April after serving nearly nine years of a 12-year sentence, claims he was “fitted” up on the drugs charges because gardaí believed he killed Ms Guerin but were unable to gather sufficient evidence for a charge of murder.
He has been fighting the conviction and has been given leave to return to the Court of Criminal Appeal.
