Irish Republican News · July 5, 2004

Man sentenced ‘in secret’

The case of a Limerick man sentenced to five years behind bars without his lawyer present must be reviewed, Republican Sinn Féin has said.

King was arrested on June 19th 2003 in Dublin on suspicion of being a member of the breakaway ‘Continuity IRA’, but has consistently denied membership.

His mobile phone was found to contain a greeting ‘Tiocfaidh Ar La’, with icons depicting a masked face and references to the Union Jack.

During his trial Garda police Chief Superintendent Gerry Kelly said in his opinion King was a member of an illegal group.

Des Long of RSF said his sentencing last week at a non-jury Special Criminal Court in Dublin, without his lawyer or senior counsel being present, raised fundamental questions in relation to civil liberties.

“He was sentenced simply on the uncorroborated word of a senior police man and we view the continued use of the Special Court to imprison people as an abuse of civil liberties and tantamount to internment, “ he said.

“In these days when anyone who protests about the political situation can be described as a terrorist, it is time to cry halt. The erosion of civil liberties cannot be tolerated in a democracy and we are now calling for the abolition of the Special Court. Already eminent legal figures have stated their unease at the draconian legislation and the power it hands to the police.

“The people of Ireland however are at last beginning to question the tactics of the police - we have seen courageous individual judges stand up against distortion, fabrication, and tampering of so called evidence by the police - yet no matter what the judges say, those who control the police continue to insist that there is no need for an Independent Investigating Commission -there is now an urgent and compelling need for an independent authority to oversee the activities of the political police.

“The case of Timmy King is disturbing and we are now urging his legal advisors to seek a review of the case and to determine how he was given the five year sentence in secret.”

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