RNU allege Euro recruitment bid

The Republican Network for Unity has slammed what it said was an attempt to blackmail and threaten one of its members.

RNU spokesperson, Carl Reilly, said a member was recently detained at a European Airport and separated from his wife and children.

Two men and a woman with Irish accents then entered the small room in which he was held.

They mentioned private details concerning his and relatives’ lives, and that he regularly collected his children from School.

The Special Branch members then insisted he was an active member of an armed group, and claimed that his membership of the GAA sport body was political.

The RNU Activist was ominously warned that “something bad is going to happen to you on this holiday”. They also said “we thought this was the best opportunity to speak to you”.

He was shown a photograph of explosives and wrongly told that his DNA had been “found” on the device.

The Special Branch members told him he would “end up in Court”. They also offered him a phone number “if ever he needed a friend”.

Mr Reilly said the incident showed the “alarming length the RUC/PSNI and MI5 will literally travel” in attempts to coerce its members.

“On behalf of the Republican Network for Unity, I reiterate an earlier call for Human Rights Organisations to condemn these appalling activities. RNU would also ask others who find themselves in similar situations to contact their solicitor immediately”.

Urgent Appeal