Irish Student jailed in Senegal for 'mooning'

[PaintingMedium]

I have NO respect for this utterly non sensical and utterly ridiculous law.

Which law? The one that states you can't moon things in public?

How do they live in such a repressive state that robs you of your right to moon buildings.

One that gives you six months for it, yeah that is pretty shockingly oppressive.

I'm in a very bad mood today which might explain my lack of reason and extreme response. But it does disturb me that any of us could support 6 months for mooning. 6 Months for mooning!!! WTF?!

We dont support 6 months for mooning, we do support the right for the country to enforce its laws, and when visiting any country, you should respect the law, have you ever mooned when abroad? the only time it is acceptable to moon is when you are on the battlefield and surrounded by scots preparing to fight the horrid english king and mel gibson with his baby blues gives you a look, and then you know, its okay to moon

[White Horse]

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.

He should have been more respectful. However, as he went there to help people, I would have expected the government to be more compassionate. He wasn't exactly a carpet-bagger.

[CookieMonster]

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.

He should have been more respectful. However, as he went there to help people, I would have expected the government to be more compassionate. He wasn't exactly a carpet-bagger.

Yes, he went there to teach English, not to moon buildings. Perhaps he should have stuck to the teaching.

[L'Chaim]

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.

He should have been more respectful. However, as he went there to help people, I would have expected the government to be more compassionate. He wasn't exactly a carpet-bagger.

Exactly! He should have been more respectful. What he did showed a lack of manners and a lack of civility by Irish standards. However, in an Islamic country, what he did is not seen as bad manners or a lack of civility. It's a serious crime and it's a sin. Islamic countries have very strict clothing laws and dress codes, and any local people who saw him mooning were probably very offended and hurt that he would treat them with such disrespect. Becasue he's a foreigner and because he was there to help will probably be in his favour when he's brought to court and he may end up being fined and have to apologise for his behaviour. He may even be sent home. I'd have no problem with any of that. I don't have a problem with him being brought to court, because he broke the law. And if he gets six months or some other jail sentence than our government should plead for mercy on his behalf.

[FutureTaoiseach]

African regimes do not exactly take kindly to being ridiculed. I suspect that - and nor the mooning per se - is what this is about. Didn't this happen near a govt building from what I gather from the media?

[corkman2007]

African regimes do not exactly take kindly to being ridiculed. I suspect that - and nor the mooning per se - is what this is about. Didn't this happen near a govt building from what I gather from the media?

From what I've read, they're claiming he mooned a provincial governor, not just the building.

Anyway, he hasn't been tried yet, let alone convicted or sentenced, so let's hope he gets found not guilty or let off with no further punishment.

[TheJudge]

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??? 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?

So what? Perhaps he should have spent some time respecting local laws as well as teaching English?

Sure the sentence is a little harsh, but he did break the law and he's now being punished.

It is a reflection on his character which is why it is important. A little harsh??? Yeah, just a tad... He should have been deported immediately. It would have made much better sense and would have been much more compassionate, finally it would have further established Senegal as one of the 'better' African countries in which to volunteer/visit.

[Auditor #9]

'to moon' - an actual english verb capable of full conjugation - i moon, you moon, he/she/it moons...

and very easy to teach too

[storybud]

A bit of double standards here , Irish guy volunteers (no pay)for job in foreign Country, makes one little boo boo (by our standards) spends time in a ************************hole jail, Sikh guy comes to Ireland and volunteers (no pay) for Garda reserves, Sikh guy is defended to the hilt by some(that Ireland has go it wrong and has no business deciding it's own culture and Irish guy is lambasted for not respecting the local culture where he is volunteering), give my bleedin head peace,

If you defend the senegalese culture then logically you must defend the Irish culture in its right of determination within its own borders,

[L'Chaim]

A bit of double standards here , Irish guy volunteers (no pay)for job in foreign Country, makes one little boo boo (by our standards) spends time in a ************************hole jail, Sikh guy comes to Ireland and volunteers (no pay) for Garda reserves, Sikh guy is defended to the hilt by some(that Ireland has go it wrong and has no business deciding it's own culture and Irish guy is lambasted for not respecting the local culture where he is volunteering), give my bleedin head peace,

If you defend the senegalese culture then logically you must defend the Irish culture in its right of determination within its own borders,

Not really. I don't see any reason why Ireland should be measured by the standards of a West African state. And that's not to say that they shouldn't have their laws. It's just to say that we don't have to set our standards by theirs