Scores of videos document PSNI harassment campaign

Videos of PSNI police abuse and harassment of republicans and the people of Derry have received hundreds upon thousands of views, likes and shares on the internet.

Saoradh and republican youth group Eistigi have said there has been an escalation in the harassment campaign that is being directed against both republicans and the general public.

Dozens of these incidents have now been documented by videos recorded on smartphones. One recent video depicts a 15 year old child being bullied and manhandled by a group of PSNI.

“Had any other group of men in Derry been captured on film, abusing a 15 year old child in this fashion, then their homes would be picketed and they would, without doubt, be subject to arrest,” Eistigi said in a Facbook post.

“The gang featured in this video will not have their homes picketed. They do not live amongst us. They creep amongst us. They are drafted in from elsewhere and concealed behind a fortified barracks wall. They then go out on patrol in armoured vehicles and heavily armed.

“They are not part of this community because they are not wanted and they are not welcome. Neither will the gang in this video be subjected to arrest. They are protected by their uniform.”

They said there had been a sharp escalation in a campaign of state harassment that is being directed against young people in Derry as part of a campaign to smash the youth group.

“The activity and development of Eistigi unnerves the British establishment in Derry. Another generation of resistance to British rule is emerging here. They cannot stop it and they know it.”

Last week, Saoradh in Belfast condemned what it described as an escalation in the intimidation and abuse of its members there by the use of ‘stop and search’ tactics

The harassment of West Belfast republican Damhnaic Mac Eochaidh and a local woman was captured on video outside Dunville Park in west Belfast.

An illegal search took place of their vehicle after PSNI members involved made an unsubstantiated reference to having authorisation from the British Direct Ruler.

In a statement, a spokesperson for the party in Belfast said that the searches were deliberately carried out to inhibit the lawful activity and progress of their movement.

They said the actions were being directed by British military intelligence. “The aim is to stifle our growth by frustrating our development,” they said.

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