Court rejects 'Dutchy' Holland drug sentence plea
The High Court today refused an application by a former suspect in journalist Veronica Guerin’s murder challenging a 12-year jail sentence he received for drug running.
Patrick ‘Dutchy’ Holland, a career criminal, claimed he was being unlawfully detained in Portlaoise Prison for possession of cannabis, valued at the time at around £100,000.
The 66-year-old’s legal team, headed by Giovanni di Stefano (dubbed the Devil’s Advocate for his work with tyrants and warlords, including Saddam Hussein), argued that warrants issued for his detention had errors.
They argued dates on the warrant sheets were incorrect, making Dutchy Holland’s detention invalid.
They also claimed the Director of Public Prosecutions did not grant special leave to hear Dutchy Holland’s case in the Special Criminal Court.
Mr Justice Gilligan refused the application. He said he was quite satisfied all the matters raised by Dutchy Holland’s lawyers should have been taken into account during his trial and were matters appropriate to his appeal.
“In my view they are matters which are irrelevant to the applicant’s present detention in Portlaoise Prison because he is detained in Portlaoise Prison pursuant to the detention order of 28th day of November, 1997,” the judge ruled.
“In any event notwithstanding these views the applicant does not make out a case that the relevant provisions of s.48 of the Offences Against the State Act 1939 were not complied with but merely makes the case that there is no evidence that they were complied with.
"In these circumstances I decline to grant the applicant leave to apply for the relief as sought on the grounds as set out.”
Dutchy Holland has served seven years of a 12-year term. He was jailed for 20 years at the Special Criminal Court in Dublin in November 1997 for possession of cannabis. On appeal the sentence was reduced to 12 years.
He is due for release in April 2006.
Justice Minister Michael McDowell has rejected claims Dutchy Holland should be given parole and allowed to attend the Training Unit in Dublin’s Mountjoy Jail.
Lawyer Giovanni di Stefano, who has represented Saddam Hussein and Serbian warlord Arkan, warned the case highlighted the need for accurate and precise recording of all aspects of an investigation, arrest, trial and detention.
“This highlights the importance of the state ensuring warrants are accurate and precise since they determine the liberty of the individual,” he said.
“This judgement is of vital importance to all those that have been convicted by the Special Criminal Court and who complain the provision of S.48 have not been complied with.
“It is the case of John Gilligan also that these provisions have not been complied with and such will indeed be referred to the Court of Criminal Appeal.”
