Doug Beattie: ​Deportation failures in the case of the 2022 Victor Hamilton murder in Ballymena can’t be allowed to be repeated

The quiet, peaceful, and well-loved man had only recently moved to Ballymena. His murder left both his family and the local community in shock.

There were four men charged in connection with the murder of Mr Hamilton.

Casemiro Sano Lopez Vaz, a foreign national, was charged with murder but fled to Portugal where he remains at large. Mamadu Djalo was originally charged with murder, but this was downgraded to manslaughter, for which he was sentenced to six years in prison. At the end of his sentence, he should be deported back to Portugal if the Home Office rules are applied. Mario Menezes and Michael Hanrahan were each sentenced for withholding information relating to the murder of Mr Hamilton; each was sentenced to two years, with half in custody and half on licence.

This is a tragic case, but it has highlighted yet another failing in our Criminal Justice System (CJS) and its inability to coordinate with other elements of government in relation to one of those found guilty in connection with Mr Hamilton’s murder.

Mario Menezes, a Portuguese national, having been sentenced to two years for withholding information, should have been automatically deported back to Portugal on completion of his sentence in line with section 32 of the UK Borders Act 2007.

However, due to time served, Mr Menezes was not returned to prison following sentencing and was released. Nobody, either Home Office representative, PSNI, prison service, probation boards, Victims Care Unit, or the Department of Justice, seemed to understand that this could be a possible outcome.

They did not ensure measures were in place to ensure Mr Menezes was detained for deportation and informed the family of Mr Hamilton what action was being taken.

The deportation of Mr Menezes was the responsibility of the Home Office Foreign National Offender Returns Command. They operate in coordination with the Northern Ireland courts, PSNI, and prison service.

However, the organisation that should have triggered the response to the courts’ ‘time served’ ruling seems to have dropped the ball. We now have an individual, who should have been deported, free to roam Northern Ireland, cross into the Irish Republic, or take a trip to Great Britain, where he can be lost in the system.

This is an important area for the Department of Justice and the justice minister. If we did not adhere to the legislation around sentencing and deportation of an individual charged in a murder case, then how many other times have we missed this important action?

The more you pick at Northern Ireland’s CJS, the more you identify failing that could be easily rectified. On questioning the lady chief justice, she acknowledged the issue and was clear that the NI Prison Service should be the trigger for this particular action. It is now important that the justice minister ensures this failing is not repeated and that the family of Victor Hamilton receive a full apology and an update as to what happened and why.

Doug Beattie MLA, Ulster Unionist justice spokesperson