A Statement from Eoin Rice Regarding A Beating For Free Speech

by WARNING Sat Jan 17, 2004 23:18

This is a warning - This is what will happen to you if you get to close to the State
This is what happens if you attempt to accert your democracy
we must support this man, or you will be next.
We must show that we will not be beaten off the streets. The reason the State has resorted to such thuggery is because protest works, and protesters like this man have them scared shitless.
we must support this man, or you will be next.
The Irish state seems to be engaged in an ilegal campain of intimidation of peaceful protesters
Starting only ten days after 9.11 at Car Free Day with 8 arrests, two weeks later Burliungton hotel 14 Arrested, in the coming weeks, months and now years we have seen dozens of peace enviromental and civil rights campainers arrested harrased and stoped from doing there work.
we must support this man, or you will be next.
This man is a valued member of the Irish activist community, he deserves our support.
There seems to be a campain to criminalise this man for his Anti-War activities, they are making an example of him, so should we by giving him all our support. Its going to be a long 6 months, we will need all hands on board.
Respect for staying peaceful under extream provocation

by D Nyland Sat Jan 17, 2004 23:28

Why did the Gardai have to use reasonable force to restrain him? I was there, I saw what happened.

Immediately the Garda began to speak to him this thug lunged at him with a punch and began shouring and spitting.

I was there, I saw it. Wait for the court case rather than believe the crap this street thug is writing here.

by Seamus P. - none Sat Jan 17, 2004 23:46

We need more people to keep an eye on people like these "plainclothes". It's obvious that this case is going to open up a huge can of worms. The disquiet that already exists with respect to the behaviour of the public servants that are supposed to be guarding the public has a good chance of being focussed on the criminals involved in this assault.

I have absolutely no belief that the "Nyland" post above is anything other than a lie.

Eoin Rice is well known as a principled and pacific man and it is completely non-credible that he "punched" or "spat" at anyone.

I look forward to this court case and to the subsequent disciplinary action taken against the "police" who were responsible for this appalling and outrageous assault.

by fnngnswk Sat Jan 17, 2004 23:49

You happened to be there then post here for the first time shortly after this is published using strange lingo - you should be out in the pub like everyone else - magic place galway.

by Eoin Dubsky Sun Jan 18, 2004 00:09

In fairness I dunno whether it has anything to do with asking EU ministers difficult questions or being an outspoken critic of the banana republic -- cops have been known to behave like this to non-activists too.

No doubt the "good cops" among them will "forget", when questioned, which one of their pals they witnessed beating the shit out of a defenceless member of the public... Like the RTS... Shame on the lot of them, fucking goons!

by Edward Horgan - PANA, Peace and Neutrality Alliance Sun Jan 18, 2004 00:42 edward.horgan at ul dot ie 086-2380911

The Peace and Neutrality Alliance are increasingly concerned at the growing number of acts of inappropriate behaviour being committed by members of the Gardai against peace activists. These acts vary from unjustified assaults on individuals, inappropriate arrests of peace activists at Shannon airport at virtually all peaceful demonstations over the past year, and inappropriate behaviour by senior members of the Gardai towards peace activists. I and other peace activists have felt obliged to lodge formal complaints to the Garda Complaints Commission, and are concerned at the undue delays in the investigation of these complaints. I am also very concerned by the inappropriate use of the courts and judicial system against peaceful demonstrators at Shannon, and by inappropriate decisions and conduct arising from district court cases in Co. Clare. The incident involving the injuries in Garda custody in Galway to Eoin Rice on 17th Jan. 2004, are of grave concern and especially in view of previous complaints of Garda harrasment by Eoin Rice and other peace activists. I call for urgent independent investigation of these complaints against the Gardai, and demand that these complaints be investigated by independent human rights experts with legal expertise.
Edward Horgan, Peace and Neutrality Alliance.

by observer Sun Jan 18, 2004 00:55

If D. Nyland had been subjected to the harassment that Eoin Rice has been subjected to over the past year for exercising his democratic right to voice his opinions then he too might respond in a robust fashion when a garda interfers with his right to speak to an MEP on the streets of Galway. Eoin Rice has been targetted by certain elements in the gardai because he is not afraid to raise his voice in protest.
So afraid were the powers that be of his voice on 6th. December in Shannon that he was arrested on traffic charges,( yes, I did say traffic charges) in the early hours of the morning to prevent him being present at the blockade. I can understand special Saturday evening sittings of courts being requested for serious crime, but for traffic offences! What a travesty of justice and a waste of the tax payer's money. The bail of 5 Euro speaks for itself.
Eoin's other crimes: possession of an offensive weapon, to wit, a water pistol, currently under forensic examination (more tax payer's money). Gosh, I almost forgot, walking on the grass in Killarney at the time of the Fianna Fail Ard Fheis.
The use of The Misuse of Drugs Act and the Offensive Weapons Act to search peace protesters shows the depravity to which this state has sunk. Even members of the Gardai themselves, are embarrassed by such immoral tactics
The voices of the Eoin Rices of this country have never been more needed.

by Phuq Hedd Sun Jan 18, 2004 01:08

Imagine the trauma of those poor Gardai as they stood around watching their slick special-branch colleagues torture Eoin Rice. The poor little fellas are only doing their jobs after all.

Good on ya Black Pope for not taking their crap without resistance. You're an inspiration.

by Free Speech - Just Warch What You Say Sun Jan 18, 2004 01:15

This is a rEAL tEST cASE fOR tHE iRISH cOUNCIL fOR cIVIL lIBERTIES ICCL.
Are the ICCL a spineless organ of the state or will they show some intent? ICCL your homeymoon period is over!
The Garda complaints board are worse than useless
We are promissed an Ombidsman, which could take another 2 years and has already attracted a lot of critisism.
The Garda are clearley out of control, it seems they have been given cart blanch to do as they will during the EU 2004 presidency. This is a classic example of the crackdown on civil liberties and the right to protest. (See Public Order Act and Criminal justice bills) This errosion of civil liberty and a more agressive Garda stance have scared some, but not Mr Rice and his and humourous antics.
This is a political and selective application of the law, and such illegal. The Irish activist community must stand up to this brutal repression before its to late. We need colourful charactors like him in the movement. Mr Rice has been arrested several times in the last few months on petty charges, in what is looking more and more like a case of Garda harassment. This is the sort of thing you hear about in China or Turkey why is this happening in Ireland?
Q Why do the Garda hate Peace protesters so mutch?
A Because they are trained to do so!
this is no isolated incident this fits the patern of consistant police abuse of powers and intimidation of peaceful protesters. Another one of our brothers is in hosplitle. This was only the 1st arrest of the EU presidency, more will follow.

The Garda are out of control
The State Government is complicit
The Justice system (Garda Complaints Board) is a recognised failier
What can we do? by the State
Be the democracy you want to see, stand up for free speech. demonstrate on Jan 22nd Dublin Castle for the JUSTICE MINISTERS EU Meeting

by Deirdre Clancy - Pitstop Ploughshares Sun Jan 18, 2004 03:07

Fair play to Eoin for standing his ground in what is clearly a case of ongoing, systematic harassment and assault. Those who would try to suggest it is okay for the guards, or anybody, to badly beat up a protestor for conversing with a politician are clearly working on an anti-democractic agenda, like the last individual who posted.

It is essential to speak up about the right of Muslim women to freedom of expression of their faith. A world in which it illegal for people to practice their religion in a way that does not harm anybody (which the wearing of a particular item of clothing clearly doesn't) is one in which democracy and human rights are seriously under attack. Silence about the persecution of ANY religious or ethnic population is not an option, and a dangerous thing to allow. I would've thought this was clear from 20th century history alone. Anti-war activists are generally interested in human rights, in case you hadn't noticed. It may be the right not to bombarded and left with a legacy of DU-influenced disease and birth deformities that is at the forefront most of the time, but we are allowed to care about other issues too.

Peaceful protestors clearly annoy the last individual, not because they are protesting, but because they are protesting about what this person considers are the "wrong" issues.

by ec Sun Jan 18, 2004 11:37

No Gardai is ever guilty of anything because we are all prejudiced seems to be the message. Evidence of Gardai acting out of hand perversely is what will lead to them getting off. Fucked up Country. A Cullyhanna (sic) report is what is needed here IMHO.

Cut Paste from Unison.ie Follows:


LAWYERS representing six Dublin gardai facing charges arising from the 2002 May Day anti-globalisation demonstration in Dublin city centre are to seek adjournments of their cases on the grounds that the RTE Prime Time programme on alleged Garda brutality has prejudiced their trials.

The Prime Time programme, last Thursday week, made a number of allegations that gardai were involved in violent behaviour and included video footage made by protestors of gardai wielding batons at the anti-globalisation demonstration in Dame Street, Dublin.

The trials of three gardai on assault charges which were to have begun in the Dublin Circuit Court on Tuesday were adjourned after lawyers argued that their clients' cases had been compromised by the programme.

An application is to be made in the High Court tomorrow to have the cases of all six gardai put back for at least nine months because of the likely prejudicial effect of the programme on the gardai.

Gardai in Dublin said yesterday that the Prime Time programme has already had an impact in placing doubts in people's minds about gardai behaviour.

On Friday, a jury acquitted a man accused of threatening to kill a garda, in the face of what was believed to be overwhelming evidence from witnesses and gardai.

The six gardai involved in the Dublin May Day anti-globalisation demonstrations, who were filmed by demonstrators using their batons in Dame Street, are all mounting defences that they wereacting within their powers to break up an unlawful gathering.

It is understood their lawyers will argue that RTE's broadcasting of video footage taken by the demonstrators may have fatally prejudiced the gardai's chances of a fair trial at least within the coming weeks or months.

Gardai say that the inclusion of the May Day demonstrators' video footage alongside claims by a number of people to have been assaulted by gardai was seriously prejudicial against the young gardai facing trial.

by N.A.E. Sun Jan 18, 2004 12:18

Is anyone surprised? Should anyone be surprised when, not if, the gardai 'walk'? The gardai have never been held accountable for their excesses, and the primary reason is that the political establishment is comprised of members of the greedy classes who would feel vulnerable without a band of loyal thugs to keep the 'rabble' under control.
The greed of the rich is the main issue. The details of garda thuggery may change from incident to incident, whether it is this latest incident with Eoin Ryan, the RTS incident, Abbeylara, the Heavy Gang, or the cases revealed in the RTE program last week.
First and foremost, if the politicians were held to account for garda behaviour, all else would follow.

by mickey Sun Jan 18, 2004 14:24

I have to laugh every time something like this happens, and people are still suprised by the actions of the gaurds , saying "they cant do this or that" or there was no legal basis for the arrest ,they can do what the fuck they like when the fuck they like. The majority of times shit like this happens it has nothing to do with protests or demos ,its just plain old bullying , a few years ago in Athlone two young fellas were walkin home about 3 or 4 in the mornin ,well on the beer, A unmarked car pulled up and without identifying themselves the detectives inside demanded to know the names of the young lads ,who promltly to them to fuck off not knowing these people from adam, one of the detectives then pulled a gun on them and made one of the young lads put his mouth around the gun. This sort of thing happens constantly, we do not live in a democracy the sooner people realise there are no solutions through state bodies or within the laws of the land the sooner real democracy can be achived.
or else we can take a leaf of of the boys in tralee who were kidnappin and hospitalising pigs about two years ago , they were calling themselves Criminals for Retribution ,or something like that

by Fintan Lane Sun Jan 18, 2004 15:43

I agree that Garda bullying is not something experienced only by political activists - young people in working class communities have always been considered fair game and a soft target because of their lack of 'connections' (and because of societal assumptions and prejudices). However, that doesn't mean that we shouldn't kick up a fuss when the same happens to anti-war activists; what happened to Owen is a disgrace and there must be no question of simply shrugging our shoulders and moving on.

The gardai have always been heavy handed at the Shannon demonstrations, though rarely violent, and it is clear that their intention has always been to intimidate anti-war activists, thereby dissuading them from returning for further protests. What happened to Owen is a step up from that nonsense and needs to be highlighted and condemned; otherwise, we will end up returning to the days of the Heavy Gang, and the 1980s, when gardai felt they could get away with virtually anything.

Best wishes from Cork, Owen. I'm glad to see they haven't got you down, but that's no surprise to those of us that know you.

by jeff Sun Jan 18, 2004 17:23

Please be on your gard (for want of a better pun), the antics catalogued here a very sinister on behalf of the Gardi. There are psycophaths working there, and I am scared.

Best of luck with your campaign.

by james Sun Jan 18, 2004 20:22

Well done Eoin for standing up for your and our civil and democratic rights and highlighting again, for the millionth time, that the gardai are a law unto themselves. No doubt if this ever makes it to the establishment media, Pat "PR" Byrne will be on rattling his usual nonsense about the gardai investigating the gardai, ie absolutely nothing will be done. Expecting an independant monitor from the PD facist Mac Dubhail is like expecting rain in the desert.

Wouldnt surprise me if Eoin ends up in the "special criminal" court on typically fabricated evidence as is par for course for that anti democratic institution.
Hope a complaint gets lodged so at least they cant say they new nothing about it even though we know it will go no where. Maith an buachaill Eoin cróga agus laidir! Beir bua.

by wibbledy wobbledy wonder Sun Jan 18, 2004 22:47

"Gardai in Dublin said yesterday that the Prime Time programme has already had an impact in placing doubts in people's minds about gardai behaviour."


Proper f**king order and about time too ...

by bright spark Sun Jan 18, 2004 23:03

"Our conversation with some EU delegates in the market in Galway was broken up. A uniformed man pushed me across the street saying "you have no business talking to that man", this man being a Dutch EU delegate."

How about trying to contact the Dutch delegate and informing him about what happened ? Or at least write to some Irish MEP who could be expected to take up the cause (probably not that many but Patricia McKenna springs to mind ..... maybe Ian Paisley would welcome an opportunity to attack the Free State police for its brutality .....)

The one thing the Free State establishment is really scared shitless about in a European context, is that our European neighbours find out how the wee green island is really run ...... a sort of a hangover from the rural village idiot complex of "what would de neighbours tink if dey found out ......"

And do remember to gives the c**nts a big resounding NO when they ask you to vote for the new European Constitution (which will not be subjected to a popular vote in any other EU member state ....)

And if they ask you why, tell them:
"Because YOUR unaccountable Free State police force prevents ordinary citizens from engaging in constructive dialog with EU delegates from other member states in a manner contrary to and in violation of the laws of this state .... "

by David Sun Jan 18, 2004 23:16

Bertie will probably end up having "My police force are more barbaric than yours" competitions with the Greeks, Spanish and Italians..

And this EU constitution thingy, Not to sound too pessimistic, But if the draft is finalised before June there is a chance we could be voting on the "treaty of dublin" and there is not a chance in a million years that the people of this country would not pass that referendum.

by trollspotter Mon Jan 19, 2004 12:20

that ridiculous comment by 'mickey' should be deleted, its trivialising a serious issue

by . Mon Jan 19, 2004 15:47

.

by ec Mon Jan 19, 2004 16:31

(12:55) The trial of three gardaí on charges of assaulting protestors at a Reclaim The Streets rally in Dublin in 2002 has been adjourned until October.

Lawyers for the accused sought the adjournment in the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court following the recent broadcast of an RTÉ Prime Time documentary.

The three accused men, Garda Paul Daly, Ronan Judge and Thomas Victory, now face trial on 5 October.

The court was told today the DPP has written to RTÉ asking the station not to broadcast any further footage of the incidents prior to court proceedings going ahead.

by David Mon Jan 19, 2004 17:01

then RTE wouldn't be allowed to show any programs that alledge that nazis were mean to the Jews in the second world war?

by EU Mon Jan 19, 2004 17:39

Even if the treaty on the constitution is finalised before the end of the Irish presidency it will still be the 'treaty of Rome'. They want to set this out as the historical second treaty of Rome. The Dutch get two, the Italians two, nothing for the famous scumbags, the horse traders, the politicians, the Irish.

by jeff Mon Jan 19, 2004 20:01

... he is stating something everyone (unless your that [insult deleted - IMC Editorial] Eoghan Harris of Sunday Indo) has on their minds.

There is no independent body to handle complaints againsts our so called Police Force (read 'farce')

Even the DPP stated last week that any completed files from the Garda Complaints Board cannot be prosecuted, because they arrive well after the limited time.

Faced with this hopeless situation, plus a media too willing to glibly ignore this institutionalised thuggery (I''ll post the link to [insult deleted - IMC Editorial] Harris latest rant), it will come as no surprise to anyone if a Baader Meinhoff outfit start emerging...

Of course, the long term, sensible view would be justice. No more heavy gang tactics, a credible police force is needed if the powers that be wish to hope for any form of civil society.

by jeff Mon Jan 19, 2004 20:07

the below is the link to one of the most deplorable articles yet. Deplorable, in that, like Jim Cusacks article the week before in the same paper, glibly ignored the beatings outlined. They were able to do this because one or two reports were not "totally factual".

Convenient then, for this excuse of a writer ( he probably uses crayons) to ignore the bigger problem ; boot boy tactics on behalf of the state.


This is the ignorance we are all up against. I doubt this [insult deleted - IMC Editorial] would be so cocky if it happened top a member of his family.

by jeff Mon Jan 19, 2004 20:17

... this is the same guy who wants to bomb Iran (as well as supporting the bombing of Iraq)

He was a serious socialist back in '68, but now thinks RTE want to bring down the whole force. The poor force.

It seems Eoghan is a tad bitter, a "serious hack" like he not being invited to help make the programme. Any suggestions on an how to prevent being "baiten" by the filth when taken into custody? Video taping does not seem to work, that would make a court case against the filth "predjudical".

My arse.

by mickey Tue Jan 20, 2004 19:11

the last comment i made was tongue in cheek, but i completely stand by what i said, i dont understand how people still seem to have faith in state sponsered watchdogs .it simply dosnt add up that the state/goverment would be slapping their right wrist with their left hand.On your remarks of my comment been deleted this is an alternative news site not the national front news letter!!

by passer by Thu Jan 22, 2004 19:29

i agree entirely with the sentiment of this debate and i am fully aware of police brutality, but i cannot help get the feeling of martyredom amongst middle class peace activists. Come into my neighbourhood in Dublin South West and get caught by the old bill for doing something minorly wrong at the wrong time at you will know what a beating is. It happens all the time, but you dont see young Billy running to indymedia every time he gets a hiding from the cops.