Irishman held in Thai jail wants to stay in country

COLIN MARTIN, the Irishman who has served over seven years in a Thai jail for a murder he claims not to have committed, wants to stay in the country if he is released, as expected, in the coming weeks.

But it is likely the Monaghan man will be immediately deported from the country on his release.

In a letter to a friend received yesterday morning, the 42-year-old said he is confident he will be among 25,000 released by royal pardon to mark the 72nd birthday of Thailand’s Queen Sikrit.

Surprisingly, in the letter to Bangkok publican John Kealy, Martin indicated he wanted to stay in the country and gave the impression that he would be allowed to do so.

“Believe it or not, he does [want to stay],” said Mr Kealy, who runs the Dubliner and Irish Exchange pubs in the city.

However, usually, foreigners released following a pardon are immediately deported.

“The standard operating procedure is that if you have spent more than three months in jail then you are deported,” Mr Kealy said.

Martin has been in prison since 1997 after being arrested for the murder of New Zealander Brett Holdsworth. In 2000, he was sentenced to 13 years in prison after being convicted of the fatal stabbing.

The Carrickmacross man has always maintained his innocence and claims a confession he signed was forced. Furthermore, the trial went ahead despite Martin having no legal representative in court.

He expects to be allowed out before the end of the month as part of the release of thousands of inmates. The first batch of 10,000 walked out of Thailand’s notoriously overcrowded and unsanitary jails on Thursday. Even if he is not pardoned and released in the next couple of weeks, Martin is coming close to the end of his sentence. It was reduced from the initial 13 years some time ago.

A Department of Foreign Affairs spokesperson said yesterday the embassy in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - which handles diplomatic representation for Thailand - had received no official confirmation of his release but that officials are hopeful he will be released.

Martin is being held in one of Bangkok’s worst prisons and spent his first two years in leg irons. He has suffered ill health, including tuberculosis.