Jailed Kiwi attacked on return

Hours after flying into Auckland following seven weeks in a cramped United States detention centre, Motueka man James Kirkwood was bashed by two men trying to steal his rental car.

The 26-year-old aircraft engineer arrived in Auckland on Friday night after being released from a detention centre in Louisiana, where he was held after being arrested in May for working without the proper visa.

Wearing filthy clothes and wanting to avoid the media, Mr Kirkwood hired a rental car and tried to find a motel.

But with the Lions-All Blacks test being played the next day, the city's accommodation was fully booked and he had to sleep in a carpark.

Mr Kirkwood thought a tap on the window in the middle of the night was a security guard. Instead, he was dragged from the car and beaten by two men hoping to steal it.

His mother Erin Clark - who has been fighting for his release and had gone to surprise her son by meeting him at the airport - was alerted to his whereabouts by a call from Victim Support.

Despite his rough treatment in Auckland, Mr Kirkwood's anger is directed at the Government which he feels abandoned him.

Arriving at Nelson, he said his homecoming was "bittersweet".

"It's obviously good to be home to the family and friends, but I'm still wondering why I had to go through that at all."

Mr Kirkwood was arrested after his employer, British company Merchant Aviation, failed to organise the correct paperwork. About six weeks into the job, the company pulled the plug on the project, he said.

After some time in a prison which was "quite tolerable", Mr Kirkwood was transferred to the Louisiana detention centre. Conditions were unfit for animals to live in, he said.

"It was very degrading the way they made you live, and the way they treated you." The food was sometimes inedible and consisted largely of beans.

Mr Kirkwood became frustrated that New Zealand Government officials were not helping him.

"I was most disappointed with them, they didn't contact me at all while I was over there," he said. "I feel abandoned by the New Zealand officials in that respect."

Mr Kirkwood believed his release resulted from his mother generating publicity about his plight, and someone approaching a US senator on his behalf.

But Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokesman James Kember said the ministry was in regular contact with Mr Kirkwood's family through his lawyer and aunt throughout his detention. "Through our embassy in Washington we made regular efforts to expedite his case," he said. "But we made it clear it was a process that could take three months."

Consular staff did not automatically visit New Zealanders detained in countries such as the US, Australia and Britain, where there were good legal facilities, Mr Kember said. "We had no reason to believe he was being mistreated. We don't visit short-term detainees unless there is a good reason."

Foreign Minister Phil Goff has said between six and 10 other Kiwis are being detained in the US on visa matters.

- NZPA