Zachary Gelevinger Kidnapped By PSNI

national | rights, freedoms and repression | news report

Wednesday July 10, 2013 00:57

by Turing

This is being kept out of the media, both in Ireland and the USA:

From the organization "HARK."

Zachary Gelevinger is a young man from Wisconsin who arrived in Belfast Wednesday to enjoy a long-timed planned first trip to Ireland, the home of his Grandmother and a lifetime dream that has turned into a nightmare.

Zachary had been corresponding with Political Prisoner Christine Connor and as a gesture of kindness, had organised a visit with Christine on her birthday, arranged by Christine's mother.

This act of good will was forever tarnished when the visit was cut short and Zachary was taken out of the visit by the PSNI in handcuffs under suspicion of "Dissident Activity."

Please note again that Zachary had not stepped foot in Ireland until Wednesday.

The American Embassy was not contacted as is proper procedure and in fact when outside sources contacted the US Stated Department at the Embassy, their calls to speak with Zachary weren't allowed through...again violating International Law.

Zachary suffers from epilepsy and may not have access to his medicines.

His case has been picked up by the law practice of Madden and Finucane and just this morning the police were granted an additional 72 hours to hold Zachary for questioning by a Belfast Judge.

What we have here is the arrogance of the PSNI at it's most disgraceful.

Citizens in the North of Ireland have lived with constant violations of human rights by the police for longer than anyone can remember, but now visitors to the North can be arrested and held for dissident activity, even if they have never set foot in Ireland before?

By arresting a foreign citizen visiting Ireland on holiday, the PSNI have shown that as we've seen in the recent actions in the April appeal of Brendan McConville and John Paul Woottton, that they are answerable to no one, that they feel that they are above the law.

In this new atrocity, in ignoring the US State Department and not following proper International procedure, they are showing that the feel they are even above International law.

I beg you, do not remain silent in this case.

Zachary Gelevinger came to Belfast to visit the land of his birth and sets in chains because he chose to reach out to a Political Prisoner on her birthday.

A lot of words have been tossed around lately about this horror.
Outrage. Unjust. Evil.

There are no words to describe what this man in his early 20's is going through and absolutely no description to describe the arrogance and vanity of the PSNI in arresting a visiting citizen from America.

If a citizen from another country has no rights in the North of Ireland, how does NI ever expect to become anything but isolated and alone?

We suffer enough in the fight to bring awareness of our own continuing human rights violations and governmental challenges to the rest of the world.

We can not allow the same to start happening to visitors and tourists.

You might as well lock the borders and toss away the key.

Please share Zachary's story everywhere you can.

Caroline Ceallaigh