State denies two foreign nationals seeking protection were unlawfully detained at hotel

State said Covid quarantine lasted longer than five days because of a lack of space at any of its accommodation centres for asylum seekers

Court heard the men, who are aged in their 30s, were detained at Dublin Airport in September after they attempted to enter the country on fake Israeli passports. Picture: Leah Farrell / RollingNews.ie

Two men seeking international protection in Ireland are "free to leave" a Dublin hotel where they claimed they were unlawfully detained following their release from prison, the High Court has heard.

The two, who sought an inquiry into the legality of their alleged detention at the hotel, are citizens of a non-EU/EEA country and cannot be identified for legal reasons.