Irish authorities have charged Northern Ireland manslaughter of 23-year-old Eamonn Harrison, possibly involved in the deaths of 39 migrants in a van truck in England.
Essex County Police on October 23 found 39 dead in a truck that arrived in the UK from Belgium. The victims were initially called Chinese citizens, but on October 26, the Vietnamese diaspora in Britain announced that Vietnamese were among the dead. Five people were detained on suspicion of involvement in the murder, including a truck driver, 25-year-old Maurice Robinson, from Northern Ireland. Later, three detainees were released on bail. The trial in the Robinson case will begin on November 25.
Harrison was detained on a European warrant issued by the British authorities in Dublin on the morning of November 1, and appeared on trial the same day. A police spokesman said at the hearing that 41 charges were brought against the defendant, in particular Harrison is charged with 39 cases of manslaughter, conspiracy to illegally move people and conspiracy to facilitate illegal migration.
According to the case file, the British authorities believe that it was Harrison who delivered the van, in which they later found the bodies of the dead, to the Belgian Zeebrugge before sending it to Britain. Judge of the High Court of Ireland Donald Binchi, at the conclusion of a brief preliminary hearing, decided to leave the accused in custody until the examination of the merits on November 11.