Shell to Sea still fighting for Irish Gas as Special Branch put on the pressure.

by Chrissie Fri Mar 28, 2008 11:00

Fair play to the Shell to Sea supporters in the face of this disgraceful Garda/Branch harrassment. Shell don't even have enough respect to speak to the people in the region of the proposed refinery; rather than show so much deference to those expected to live with environmental devastation, the screws go on anyone who dares to question the wider outcomes (beyond a few jobs) of a refinery onshore, & an experimental-pressure pipeline. Take a look at Shell's poisoned legacy so far in its oil provinces.

by Seán Ryan Fri Mar 28, 2008 15:52

A person should not be forced to go to a Garda station or anywhere else against his or her will.

You do not have to go to a Garda station against your will unless you are arrested. The Gardaí can of course ask you to accompany them; you are well within your rights to refuse to do so.

Anyone forced to go to a Garda station without having been arrested has been falsely imprisoned.

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Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act, 1997
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False imprisonment.

15.—(1) A person shall be guilty of the offence of false imprisonment who intentionally or recklessly—

( a ) takes or detains, or

( b ) causes to be taken or detained, or

( c ) otherwise restricts the personal liberty of,

another without that other's consent.

(2) For the purposes of this section, a person acts without the consent of another if the person obtains the other's consent by force or threat of force, or by deception causing the other to believe that he or she is under legal compulsion to consent.

(3) A person guilty of an offence under this section shall be liable—

( a ) on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding £1,500 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to both, or

( b ) on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for life.

*********************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************

by He was a nice branch man Sat Mar 29, 2008 13:25

All he wanted was hugs and kiss,did not want his photo taken,very shy.

by Sean Sat Mar 29, 2008 23:05

If your taken to a Garda station against your will you HAVE BEEN ARRESTED. Gardai on duty cannot be guilty of false imprisonment within a Garda station, its called unlawful arrest / detention and is dealt with buy way of a Habeas Corpus application. Seriously, you need more than Google to understand the law!

Also, only photographing I see going on is by the protestors not these people, if they even were Gardai to begin with. What proof to support either allegation or comment?

by guileless Sun Mar 30, 2008 00:32

You're absolutely right, there's no evidence that these people are police officers, and they certainly never identify themselves as such.

If you watch the video from which the pictures above come, you'll see they have a big camera with a long lens, but there are probably many reasons why two men would sit in a car at an empty petrol station taking pictures of a protest from a distance, and then threaten to confiscate the camera of someone who approaches and photographs them.

The video is here: http://ie.youtube.com/watch?v=48b1WNCbrRU

There is also probably a good reason why the two men in the picture below stood on a corner opposite where some Shell to Sea protesters were meeting, taking pictures and trying their best to blend into the brickwork. Maybe they were just tourists on holiday...

by Seán Ryan Sun Mar 30, 2008 01:25

If you have been taken to a Garda station against your will, you have not necessarily been arrested. There's lots of case law in existence that shows this. The most common example is where someone is taken to the station to 'help the Gardaí with their enquiries.' Sometimes when such a person asks if they can leave they are told that they cannot. A good rule of thumb regarding arrest would be: you should be told that you are being arrested and you should be told why. To be arrested under false pretences or without a lawful reason is false arrest. However if you are dragged into a car by some unidentified assailants, this is not false arrest. Secondly, someone pulled from the street, who has not been arrested, has at the very least, been falsely imprisoned. Moreover, to be directed to perform some action under the colour of law (like being told to leave an area) when one is not violating the law is another example of false imprisonment. Neither false arrest nor false imprisonment require that a Garda station be a part of the picture.

A quick scan of my pal Google turned up the following: "The Sunday Tribune recently reported that in the year 2002 one million euro will be paid by the state in out-of-court settlements to dozens of people who are suing the Gardai for false arrest or imprisonment, assault and malicious prosecution. Six million euro has been paid out in compensation over the past five years for breach of citizens' rights by Gardai. Cases settled out of court are not reported and plaintiffs sign confidentiality agreements, so such matters conveniently do not reach the papers. In addition to the 6 million euro paid out to citizens abused by Gardai, the taxpayer also the pays the costs of compensation for Gardai injured while on duty. Currently 1,500 Gardai (14% of the force) are suing the State for such compensation and the final cost is expected to top 80 million euro, which works out as an average payout of 40,000 euro per individual guard." http://www.fourthwrite.ie/mags1.html It's a bit old, but my point is made. Fair enough, this example cites the civil action of 'false imprisonment,' it stands to reason, that if a Garda can be sued for 'false imprisonment' that this Garda is capable of committing the crime of 'false imprisonment.' Three cheers for Google! The rest of the piece is well worth a read to get an idea of the scope of charges that can be brought against Gardaí who act in a criminal fashion. Strangely enough, despite the fact that many have successfully sued the State and the Gardaí for the criminal actions of the Gardaí, it's rare indeed that a Garda be prosecuted for the crime that the State has already compensated someone for. Wanna bet this'll change in the near future? Google 'private prosecution.' And note that for serious charges, it's the duty of the DPP to do the prosecuting.

Anyone can be guilty of false imprisonment, including on duty Gardaí. Say for example, a Garda abducts a young child, is this false arrest? I don't think so, not by a long shot. Of course false imprisonment charges would be the least of this Garda's legal worries.

Habeas Corpus is only useful to obtain one's release, it does not deal with those who've acted unlawfully. Also it would be a tad unusual to say the least, for someone in Garda custody, who had not been arrested, to apply for Habeas Corpus.

I think some Gardaí et al would have a better knowledge of their duty if they checked out Google every now and then, rather than making it up as they go along.

by jya Sat Nov 22, 2008 17:22

He's called detective Alcock and he's in the Special Detective Unit. He is in with those that appear on this website:
http://www.trust-us.ch/cryptome/01-Cryptome-061213/spec...h.htm

Why they think its worth their while harassing S2S is a question above my pay grade.