Galway Peace Activist Accuses Gardai Of Harassment – As Shannon Detectives Seek To “interview” Him

galway | anti-war / imperialism | news report Thursday June 27, 2013 22:09 by Galway Alliance Against War

Niall Farrell of the Galway Alliance Against War has accused the Gardai of harassment after he was contacted today by Det. Roddy Bourke of Shannon Garda station seeking to “interview” him tomorrow in relation to an act of sabotage of a US warplane at Shannon airport in December 2011.

“The Gardai raided my home over a year ago, June 7th 2012, in connection with an act of peaceful sabotage of a US warplane at Shannon in December 2011. At the time they seized the family’s desktop computer and still have not returned it. Over the past number of months different independent TDs have raised this issue of blatant harassment with the Minister for Justice. And the result is I am to be further harassed with an “interview under caution” in relation to the incident at Shannon airport some 18 months ago.
“This attention by the Gardai towards me and other members of the peace movement stands in stark contrast to their complete inactivity with regards to the illegal actions of the US military and CIA at Shannon over the past 11 years. The US war machine in that period has freely transported troops and weaponry through Shannon in contravention of international law resulting in the deaths of up to 2 million people in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Somalia and Yemen. The CIA is known to have used Shannon as part of its illegal “extraordinary rendition” programme. But the Gardai prefer to turn a blind eye to these crimes. Indeed, Shannon Gardai only a week ago refused to search a US military Hercules transport plane at the request of Edward Horgan, a former commandant in the Irish army and Shannon peace monitor. Mr Horgan believed the plane could be carrying weapons for one side in the Syrian civil war or illegal US killer drones in contravention of the international law on neutrality.”