Irish Student jailed in Senegal for 'mooning'

[gaelach]

Maybe bomb them; how about that?

Send the lads in:

[Insider2007]

It is disgraceful that there hasn't been more of an outcry about this and a sad reflection on this country. I don't know if anything could be done to help but I do know that more could be tried.

Like what?

Buy him underpants.

[PaintingMedium]

He should take his punishment! I dont understand why there should be an outcry here, why?
Why would you go a muslim country and not research what is acceptable and what is not. The guy must be a bit dim if he thought it was okay. Im going to Egypt soon, and im reading all about what is acceptable, whats not acceptable, its about respect, and if this guy didnt respect the culture and law of the land, he should take his punishment. "When in Rome..."

[Rocky]

As far as I know, he was put in jail about 10 days ago,locked in a cell with many other inmates, has been refused bail and has a trial at the end of this month with the prosecution hoping he will get 6 MONTHS jailtime. Fair enough - he made a stupid mistake but we're talking about a student who went out there as a volunteer teaching English to children. It is disgraceful that there hasn't been more of an outcry about this and a sad reflection on this country. I don't know if anything could be done to help but I do know that more could be tried.

Anyone who is stupid enough to go to an African country even one as good as Senegal and as African countries go Senegal is one of the the best ones and moon someone and I think it was someone important, deservers to spend time in jail. I have no absolutely no sympathy for this guy.

[michael1965]

There must be some manner in which authorities over there could be pressured. Edit - It would help if it attracted more national coverage.

You reckon? Frankly, I would have thought the less national coverage the more likely it would be that the Senegalese government might be lenient and amenable to requests for clemency from the Irish authorities. If they were seen to be giving in to a public outcry in a Western state, however, they might be more likely to stand their ground, particularly as, strictly speaking, they're in the right.

True. Another example of the ugly westerner with little respect for local values.

What exactly is Senegal an example of then? A civilised,noble country???

Well I know f.all about Senegal, buit according to the CIA, it's one of the more stable democracies in Africa "with a long history of international peace keeping".

A 19 year old volunteers to go over there and spend his summer teaching kids English, he makes a minor mistake, could they not just deport him? Why do they need to throw him in jail, put him in a cell with up to 40 inmates and seek 6 months jailtime for him?

Maybe people who are sent to these countries should be educated about the cultural sensitivities of the people who live there.

[Coles]

I'm inclined to agree, Painting Medium... I would only hope that he receives a fair trial and that any sentance takes into account his ignorance of the seriousness of his actions. Must be hard on his family...

[SPN]

It is disgraceful that there hasn't been more of an outcry about this and a sad reflection on this country. I don't know if anything could be done to help but I do know that more could be tried.

Like what?

The Ranger Wing!

Beginning in the late 1960s, the personnel from the Irish Defense Forces were sent to take part in the US Army's Ranger School. Graduates of this program returned to Ireland and established a new school, very similar in mission and organization to that of the US Army. Students on these courses were selected from among all ranks and all Units of the Army, the Air Corps and the Naval Service. These courses proved to be very beneficial in improving standards of physical endurance, marksmanship, individual military skills and small unit tactics. By 1980, it was decided that the skill level of the members had evolved to a degree which warranted the establishment of an official Army Ranger Wing (ARW). The missions of this unit are multiple, including long range patrolling, training of other units, VIP security, anti-hijacking, hostage rescue, and counterterrorism. These duties, specifically as they related to CT, are considered supplemental to Ireland's primary response unit, the Garda Siochana.

And it wouldn't be the first time the ARW would have dropped into an African Town to rescue hostages!

The ARW was deployed in Liberia following the Second Liberian Civil War as part of a peace-keeping contingent of more than 400 troops from the Irish Defence Forces, in turn part of a rapid reaction force for the United Nations mission in the country.

One of their most successful missions during this deployment was the rescue of a group of civilians captured by gunmen from renegade Government of Liberia forces. Acting on intelligence, twenty heavily armed Rangers were dropped by helicopter into the town of Gbapa. To avoid casualties among the hostages, the Rangers implemented a policy of non-lethal intervention and, after surrounding a 40-foot container containing the 35 hostages, rescued them.

You can be sure if this young lad was from Limerick that Willy would have had a squad in and out of Senegal by now!

[PaintingMedium]

I'm inclined to agree, Painting Medium... I would only hope that he receives a fair trial and that any sentance takes into account his ignorance of the seriousness of his actions. Must be hard on his family...

I would agree with you here as well, plus i say any sentence he gets will be nothing compared to the kick up the arse his mother will probably give him for acting the fool, I would have thought the company that organises this teaching would have given them lessons in local customs/manners etc..

[Rocky]

I'm inclined to agree, Painting Medium... I would only hope that he receives a fair trial and that any sentance takes into account his ignorance of the seriousness of his actions. Must be hard on his family...

I would agree with you here as well, plus i say any sentence he gets will be nothing compared to the kick up the arse his mother will probably give him for acting the fool, I would have thought the company that organises this teaching would have given them lessons in local customs/manners etc..

They probably did, but Mooning isn't something that we do to say hello in Ireland or anything like that. They would have told him not to do anything stupid and don't do anything that could possibly attract the police.

[Eddiepops]

Holy crap? What is wrong with you people? Showing ur are is worht six months in a stinking jail? Are you actually serious? This is relativism gone completely f998ing mental. Of course the damage done by his mooning people must be utterly untold, and 6 months rotting in a foreign prison in shocking conditions after going over as a volunteer couldnt barely begin to address it, but surely a better way exists. Ye all need to take a look at yourselves on this one. Just because something is a law in a foreign country, does not automatically make it correct, sensible or worthy of our respect. Utterly insane.