IFPAL member arrested with "offensive and abusive" sign at the Israeli Embassy

national | rights, freedoms and repression | press release Saturday September 26, 2009 22:56 by IFPAL - Irish Friends of Palestine Against Lisbon

Gardai learn nothing from the Morris Tribunal and abuse their power by interfering in the democratic process at the behest of the Israeli Embassy.

IFPAL (Irish Friends of Palestine Against Lisbon) wish to draw attention to an incident involving their member Sean Clinton and members of an Garda Síochána on Pembroke Road, Dublin on Friday 18th September which resulted in Mr. Clinton being arrested for displaying a sign which read as follows:

Israel Killed over 300 Palestinian Children in January
Yet the EU will not impose sanctions
EU policy facilitates Israeli genocide
Vote No to Lisbon

A Garda on duty outside the Israeli Embassy prevented Mr. Clinton from erecting the IFPAL referendum sign claiming firstly that he could not erect a sign on a County Council pole without permission. Mr. Clinton pointed out that he didn’t need permission in the run up to a national referendum and, in any case, that he actually had the agreement of staff in the Roads Department of Dublin City Council to erect the sign on the pole. The Garda then stated that he needed a permit. When asked what the title of the permit was and under what legislation it was required, the Garda said he didn’t know. He told Mr. Clinton that he could stand there and hold a peaceful protest with the sign but that he could not erect it on the pole. Mr. Clinton asked him to phone his supervisor to find out the name of the permit and the title of the relevant Act.

A squad car with blue light flashing arrived with three more Gardai. They consulted with the original Garda and repeated his claim that a permit was necessary. After spending at least five minutes on the phone the original Garda, for a third time, changed the reason why Mr. Clinton could not erect the sign. He told him that the sign was offensive, and that Gardai had received a complaint from the Israeli Embassy stating that the sign was offensive and abusive. Mr. Clinton pointed out that the information on the sign was public information that was widely available. He asked the Gardai to examine the sign and point out which part of the sign was offensive and abusive but they would not do so.

The Gardai informed Mr Clinton that he could not display the sign, as people in the Israeli Embassy had complained about it. Mr. Clinton protested that there was nothing offensive or abusive about the sign and that he had every right to display and erect it without interference from the Gardai. He informed the Gardai that they were giving the Israeli Embassy a veto over what signage could be displayed in the run-up to a national referendum. Gardai then arrested Mr. Clinton under sections 7 and 8 of the Criminal Justice (Public Order) Act 1994. They handcuffed him in the public street and frogmarched him to the squad car. He was taken to Donnybrook Garda station, searched and held in a cell for 45 minutes before being released without charge. Gardai removed all items in his possession before placing him in a cell. They failed to return a memory stick that Mr. Clinton had in his pocket and failed to record it among the list of items taken from him.

It is clear from the facts of this case that the Gardai learned absolutely nothing from their experience with the Morris Tribunal into Garda wrongdoing in Donegal. While the gravity of the wrongdoing in this incident is not comparable, nonetheless it demonstrates that the culture in the Gardai has not changed one iota. Gardai made false claims about the need to obtain permission to erect a sign, falsely claimed that a permit was necessary and falsely claimed that the sign was in contravention of Section 7 of the Criminal Justice (Public Order) Act 1994. They arrested Mr. Clinton without due cause and handcuffed him in the public street and held him in custody for over an hour before releasing him without charge.

Gardai gave no consideration to protection Mr. Clinton’s rights and from the outset used all of their power and influence, illegally we claim, to interfere in the democratic process at the behest of the Israeli ambassador. The Gardai acted as agents of the Israeli state and abused the rights of an Irish citizen in order to facilitate the Israeli ambassador’s attempt to deny the Irish public critical information in the run up to a national referendum.

Mr Clinton was guilty of no wrong-doing. He was lawfully participating in the democratic process. The sign he attempted to erect was the same as a number of other signs erected in various locations around the country. Gardai prevented Mr. Clinton from displaying and erecting the sign at the behest of agents of the Israeli government who seek to hide the facts about the Israeli genocide in Gaza and the fact that these actions are facilitated by EU foreign policy.

We in IFPAL call on the Minister for Justice to initiate an enquiry into the conduct of the Gardai in this case as a matter of urgency, to expose the full facts and clear Mr. Clinton’s good name and restore his reputation as a law abiding citizen of this state.