Jersey Unreported Judgments

Inferior Number Sentencing - contravention of the Immigration (Jersey) Order 1993

[2016]JRC199A

Royal Court

(Samedi)

4 November 2016

The Attorney General

-v-

Amanda Marreakhy

Sentencing by the Inferior Number of the Royal Court, following a guilty plea to the following charge:  

Age:  28.

Plea: Guilty. 

Details of Offence:

On 30^th January, 2016, the defendant travelled on the Condor Rapide from St Malo to St. Helier.  She boarded the ferry driving a Vauxhall Corsa.  Following the Condor Rapide's arrival in Jersey, the defendant disembarked driving the Vauxhall Corsa.  She presented herself to an immigration officer as the sole occupant of the vehicle.  She presented a British Passport in the name of Amanda Anderson (her maiden name).  She stated that she had been working in Paris as a journalist and produced a press pass in the name of Amanda Anderson.  She told the immigration officer that she would be meeting with her husband and their children in Jersey, and that they intended to stay in the Island for two days before returning together to the UK.  The defendant was then directed to drive into the customs search area.  She stated to the customs officers that she had "nothing to declare."  She was required by the customs officers to open the boot of the vehicle, which she did.  The officers then discovered a man lying in the boot.  The man was later identified as Mr Merikhi, an Iranian national, being the defendant's brother in law.  The defendant had travelled between the UK and France on three previous occasions prior to the trip on 30^th January and messages between the defendant and her husband indicated that they had been planning to facilitate Mr Merikhi's entry into the UK. 

Details of Mitigation:

Guilty plea, previous good character, remorse, not acting for financial reward, illegal entrant was a family member and family circumstances. 

Previous Convictions:

None. 

Conclusions:

Costs of £1,000 sought towards the prosecution should a non-custodial sentence be imposed. 

Sentence and Observations of Court:

Costs order in the sum of £1,000 towards the prosecution made. 

M. R. Maletroit, Esq., Crown Advocate.

Advocate J. W. R. Bell for the Defendant.

JUDGMENT

THE DEPUTY BAILIFF:

1.        You are to be sentenced for one count of having, on the 30^th January, been concerned in facilitating the entry of Amir Merikhi into Jersey who you knew or believed to be an illegal immigrant.  On that date you brought him back to Jersey from France secreted in the boot of your car.  He was your brother-in-law and an Iranian National. 

2.        We of course understand the context of this case.  He was a member of your family and we appreciate fully the familial and emotional concerns that would have underpinned this offence.  We have no doubt that these circumstances are unique and that your offending will not be repeated in any way. 

3.        However, we must also look to the principles that the Court has articulated, and in the Merikhi appeal in its judgment of 4^th October, 2016, (Merikhi-v-AG [2016] JRC 187) at paragraph 26 the Court said this:-

"....Jersey lies only a short distance from the French coast.  It is clear that there is a real risk of the Island being regarded as a form of back door entrance into the United Kingdom.  It is in our judgment entirely proper that the courts of this Island should have regard to the importance of seeking to ensure that the Island is not so used by those seeking illegal entry to the United Kingdom.  We therefore endorse the Assistant Magistrate's view that a breach of the Island's immigration laws is a serious matter and will lead to offenders facing a custodial sentence.  That is not to negate the statute.  There may be exceptional cases where a fine or other non-custodial sentence is appropriate, but we consider that such circumstances are likely to be rare."

4.        There was no doubt that this offence was a pre-meditated offence to the extent that it had been in the planning for a number of days, as you have admitted through Counsel yourself, and in our view, cases of this nature will almost always incur a substantial custodial sentence. 

5.        We note your guilty plea, we note that you have no previous convictions, and we note that you have not done this for commercial gain, and, of course, as we have said we understand and appreciate the familial context in which this offending has arisen. 

6.        We have therefore searched anxiously for whether or not there are, in this case, exceptional circumstances to avoid the clear policy of the Court that custody is appropriate in cases such as this.  Amongst the circumstances that we note and that we take into account is that this was a family member who was infirm.  We take into account that you have young children for whom you are the main carer, although on one analysis, perhaps you should have taken that into account yourself before you committed the offence that you did.  We note that you are pregnant. 

7.        With those circumstance and others that have been revealed in this case, we think taking it cumulatively, and noting the fact that your brother-in-law was granted asylum very shortly after he came to Jersey, we are just satisfied, just, that we are entitled to depart from the policy of the Court and impose a non-custodial disposal.  

8.        You are accordingly sentenced to 312 hours' community service, the equivalent of 2 years' imprisonment. 

9.        We also order you to pay costs of the amount of £1,000 as sought by the Crown. 

Authorities

Merikhi-v-AG [2016] JRC 187.

Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 (Jersey) Order 2003.

Immigration (Jersey) Order 1993.

AG-v-Mamado [1990] JLR N 15D.

AG-v-Mamado 1990/140.

R-v-Van Binh Le and Stark [1999] 1 Cr App R (S) 422.

Criminal Justice (Suspension of Prison Sentences)(Jersey) Law 2003.

Costs in Criminal Cases (Jersey) Law 1961.