The husband of murdered Latvian Baiba Saulite has been reunited with his two sons in Syria after flying out of Ireland following his early release from Portlaoise prison two weeks ago.

A foreign national who told detectives he overheard Hassan Hassan saying he wanted to kill his wife and her solicitor John Hennessey in a courtroom in 2006 has been urged by gardaí to enter the witness protection programme, the Sunday Tribune has learned.

This man was one of the garda's "key witnesses" and had indicated to detectives he was willing to testify against the Lebanese national had he been charged in relation to his wife's murder.

The DPP directed that Hassan Hassan should not face charges of conspiring to murder his wife.

Detectives investigating the murder had been confident that the Lebanese national would be charged with ordering his wife's killing and were shocked and disappointed by the DPP's recent direction.

It is understood the foreign national who claimed he overheard Hassan planning the killings does not want to enter the witness protection programme. He never had to give evidence against Hassan and, as Hassan has now left Ireland, he does not believe he is in any danger. He has a partner and young family and does not want to disrupt his family's life. Detectives believe his life could still be in danger. Although the murder investigation has effectively ended, it remains open as unsolved.

The couple's two sons Ali (8) and Mohamed (6) were being cared for by Hassan's sister Rawaa Hassan. Hassan could not care for the boys because he was in prison serving a four-year sentence for his part in a stolen car ring and a consecutive two-year sentence for kidnapping his two sons in 2004.