PSNI run amok on the Falls

Police assaulted and threatened to shoot people in separate incidents amid heightened tensions in west Belfast.

On Monday, Saoradh said two its members were targeted while driving along the Falls Road, Belfast and one assaulted after being accused of “obstructing the search”. He was punched on the face an beat to the ground before being handcuffed from behind, while three members of the PSNI (formerly RUC) knelt on his back.

The other Saoradh member, and driver of the car, protested and began recording the incident on his phone. Passers-by who sought to intervene were threatened with arrest before being questioned about their movements and details under section 21 of the ‘Justice and Security’ act.

“This was an attempt at pure and utter intimidation and an abuse of power and processes,” Saoradh said. “Even more concerning, were the comments made about the personal details of the solicitor of the young man arrested.

“One of the RUC men made a point of stating where the solicitor frequented and where he drank with his friends, after the driver had asked his friend for the name of his solicitor so that he could be informed.

“Given the history of solicitors first having their personal details ‘dropped’ before being set up for assassination, Saoradh intends to alert those with concern for such instances.”

The men then had their phones seized and told that they may contain evidence of an assault on police.

“All witnesses to this assault are of the strong opinion that the phones which were illegally seized, were seized to facilitate the later destruction of evidence; in particular - the evidence captured of the solicitors details,” Saoradh said.

THREATENED WITH A GUN

In a separate incident, prominent west Belfast republican Gerard Fitzpatrick and a friend, Ciaran Daly, had guns pointed at them by the PSNI during a chaotic incident in busy traffic.

Two lanes of traffic were blocked as Mr Daly’s van was seized, before being later returned. It was the second time within a week in which a gun had been pointed at Mr Daly by the PSNI as he went about his working day.

On both occasions, police said they were looking for a gun, but Mr Fitzpatrick, who is a member of the Irish Republican Prisoners’ Welfare Association, said people were being deliberately targeted because of their association with him.

Mr Daly, who is not a republican or politically minded, described the operation on Saturday as a scary experience. “My harassment comes only because I am friends with a local republican,” he said.

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