‘I felt our government would protect us, that somebody would step in’

Richard O’Halloran has been held as a so-called ‘economic hostage’ in China since February 2019, enduring a Kafkaesque nightmare in a Shanghai hotel

Richard O’Halloran: in an interview with PrimeTime he described his ordeal as ‘two years of hell’ Picture: RTE/PrimeTime

Tara O’Halloran has been living her life through an iPhone screen since February 2019.

Recently, her children have asked her to stop filming them when they’re having ice-cream as a treat, going for a walk or playing in their back garden. But O’Halloran doesn’t want her husband to miss out on watching Ben, Amber, Isabella and Scarlett growing up.

Richard O’Halloran has been held as an “economic hostage” in China for two years despite no ...