On Wednesday 11th of June three men from Ballina were sentenced to three months imprisonment and fined E500 each for allegedly assaulting a Garda Sergeant during a protest in Bellanaboy against the construction of a dangerous and unwanted pipeline by the Shell corporation.
The Judge claimed the men had charged gardaí, resulting in a Garda Sergeant falling into a ditch breaking one of his thumbs.
Ógra spokesperson Oisín Ó Dubhláin had this to say:
“It is well known to anyone involved in the campaign to end the theft of Ireland’s natural resources in Bellanaboy, that gardaí are consistently excessive in their use of force in the defence of the Shell corporations interests. They are known to throw protestors into ditches as they march peacefully down the road to the site, many being injured."
"The charge, which they deny, could not be backed up by any videoevidence, nor could the injured Garda say for sure how he was injuredor describe the exact circumstances of the alleged assault. Othersincluding the accused found themselves in ditches during the protest last October on the narrow road leading to the refinery."
"This ruling is further evidence that these are Shell’s cops and are determined to undermine the local communities wishes in conjunction with the biased courts who have consistently sided with those who are powerful and rich over the Irish people. This is nothing more than a miscarriage of justice and these men should be praised for their bravery and activism and released immediately.”
Ógra call on all republicans and otherwise to support these men and their families and call for their release.
No comments:
Post a Comment