Bereket Mekonnen was granted refugee status in August 2005, the same month he raped a woman near St Stephen’s Green. A jury convicted the Eritrean national, the appeal court upheld the verdict and the sentencing judge assessed him as a high reoffending risk. He could not be removed to Eritrea and was later reported to have received Irish residence. In August 2026, Belfast prosecutors alleged that another Eritrean national before the court, Teklemariam Lijam, was Mekonnen living under a different identity. That identity claim and the new Northern Irish charges have not yet been finally determined.
The established Irish record
On 3 August 2005, Mekonnen raped a woman near York Street and St Stephen’s Green in Dublin. A Central Criminal Court jury convicted him by a 10–1 majority on 2 February 2007. The court imposed seven years’ imprisonment, backdated by 18 months, sex-offender registration and five years of post-release supervision. Contemporary reporting said the judge considered him damaged, dangerous and at high risk of reoffending.
The Court of Criminal Appeal rejected every ground of his appeal in October 2011. Reporting in 2014 said he had been released in 2011, could not be returned to Eritrea because of evidence concerning the risk of torture, and was first granted Stamp 4 permission and later residence in Ireland.
The Belfast identity allegation
On 5 August 2026, the Irish Times reported that Teklemariam Lijam, aged 42 and described in Belfast High Court as an Eritrean national of no fixed abode, was refused bail. Prosecutors alleged that Lijam was Bereket Mekonnen and said fingerprints held under the Mekonnen identity matched him. They said Interpol had asked the PSNI in March 2026 to locate a high-risk sex offender wanted in Ireland for an alleged failure to notify authorities of a change of address.
Lijam faces Northern Irish charges of failing to register as a sex offender, providing false information to police and perverting the course of justice. He disputes the prosecution case. His defence cited UK refugee status and opposed the claim that he posed a flight risk. Chief Justice Siobhan Keegan refused bail because she considered that conditions could not safely address risks of reoffending or absconding. The report said Home Office checks were continuing and an Irish European Arrest Warrant was being prepared.
A separate conviction under the Lijam name
The Irish News reported that Lijam pleaded guilty in September 2025 to exposure and criminal damage after repeatedly exposing himself outside House Belfast on Botanic Avenue and spitting in a PSNI vehicle. He received two months’ imprisonment and sex-offender notification requirements. That conviction is final under the Lijam name. Until the Belfast court determines the identity issue, it is recorded here as part of the alleged-alias proceedings rather than asserted as a second conviction of Mekonnen.
Timeline
- August 2005: refugee status reportedly granted; rape committed in Dublin on 3 August.
- February 2007: convicted of rape and sentenced to seven years.
- October 2011: appeal dismissed; release was reported during 2011.
- 2014: reported Irish residence after return to Eritrea was ruled out.
- 2024: Lijam reportedly arrived in the United Kingdom and later sought asylum.
- September 2025: Lijam convicted in Belfast of exposure and criminal damage.
- March 2026: arrested after an Interpol request, according to the Belfast prosecution.
- 5 August 2026: bail refused on the disputed-identity and notification-related charges.
What the public record can and cannot price
Seven years at the Irish Prison Service 2024 average of €99,072 per available staffed prison space produces a gross scale benchmark of €693,504. It is not an invoice for this prisoner and does not prove marginal spending. The figure excludes investigation, prosecution, courts, legal aid, probation, immigration administration and any Northern Irish costs. No reliable public case-level total for those services was located.