A Man Who Came to the UK Through a Shocking Visa Loophole, Applied for Asylum but Was Rejected, Is Accused of Suffocating His Girlfriend Before Fleeing the Country
An asylum seeker accused of killing his girlfriend is said to have entered the UK through what has been described as a “£10 visa loophole” before later travelling to Ireland.
Ahmad Al-Saqar, 28, is alleged to have fled to Jordan after his girlfriend, 43-year-old Jamey Carney, was found dead inside her home in Killarney, County Kerry, on July 7.
The tragic discovery was made by Ms Carney’s 13-year-old daughter when she returned home after staying overnight at a friend’s house. Emergency services were called, but Ms Carney was pronounced dead at the scene. A post-mortem examination found that she died from suffocation and had also suffered serious head injuries after being struck with the lid of a toilet cistern. Police are continuing their investigation into her death.
Ms Carney, who originally came from New York, moved to Ireland in 2021 to begin a new chapter in her life. Reports say she met Al-Saqar during a local pro-Palestine protest after he had travelled from the UK into Ireland.
According to reports, Al-Saqar first entered the UK using a low-cost online travel authorisation, which reportedly cost around £10. He is then believed to have travelled to Northern Ireland before crossing the open border into the Republic of Ireland.
After arriving in Ireland, he applied for asylum. Although his asylum application was refused, he was later granted subsidiary protection, a legal form of protection given to people who may not meet the full definition of a refugee but who could face serious harm if returned to their home country.
Investigators believe Al-Saqar left Ireland during the early hours of July 7, shortly after Ms Carney’s death. Reports say he boarded a Turkish Airlines flight to Istanbul before continuing his journey to Jordan.
Irish authorities are now working to bring him back to Ireland. It has been reported that officers have travelled overseas to begin the extradition process so he can face a murder charge.
At Ms Carney’s funeral earlier this month, family and friends paid emotional tributes to the mother-of-one. She was remembered as a kind, caring and positive woman who brought happiness wherever she went. The chief celebrant described her as “a ray of sunshine” and said moving from New York to Ireland had been the best decision of her life because she and her daughter had found a place they truly felt was home.
He also spoke about the special bond between Ms Carney and her daughter, calling the young girl “the light of her life”. Messages of sympathy and support poured in from people across Ireland and beyond as loved ones remembered Ms Carney and mourned her tragic death.
