SHAM PROSECUTION FALLS APART

Posted by Jim on June 23, 2018

A judge in the non-jury trial of a prominent republican has admitted
the prosecution was based entirely on allegations extracted by police
threats and ordered him to be released, more than five and a half years
after he was initially charged.

Damian ‘DD’ McLaughlin was accused of moving a car which Gardai police
said was later used in an attack in which Maghaberry prison warder,
David Black, was killed outside Belfast.

The prosecution case against Mr McLaughlin rested solely on the
evidence of a Leitrim man, Stephen Brady, who was interrogated in a
coercive manner by gardai, according to the judge at Belfast Crown
Court.

The Diplock (non-jury) judge, Justice Adrian Colton, said that Gardai
in Dublin were guilty of ‘aggressive, oppressive, hectoring and
bullying’ when forcing Mr Brady to falsely identify Mr McLaughlin.

Recordings of the interviews, seen by the judge, were laced with illegal
attempts to extract false allegations. The judge said the interviews
were conducted in such a way as to “undermine the right to silence”. He
concluded that as the case was solely dependent on tainted evidence, “no
court could convict” Mr McLaughlin.

In an effort at damage limitation, prosecutors asked for a further 48
hours to consider an appeal before formally abandoning the case on
Thursday.

A statement from Mr McLaughlin’s lawyer, Peter Corrigan, said that he
had always vehemently denied the charges.

“The evidence obtained by the Gardai was significantly and fundamentally
flawed from the outset, and should never have been relied upon, nor
should Mr McLaughlin have been charged with these offences,” he said.

He added: “The techniques used by the gardai in extracting the
information from the suspect can only be described as oppressive and
inhuman. We plan to immediately proceed to make a complaint to the Garda
Ombudsman for allowing such practices to occur. If the gardai abided by
their own practice, our client would never have been before the courts.”

The saga of his prosecution saw Mr McLaughlin being returned to jail in
2012 after a previous incarceration, before he was bailed on draconian
conditions. Rearrested in Donegal after violating his bail conditions,
he was then extradited back North, despite a Dublin Court hearing that
the Maghaberry regime would violate his rights as laid out in the
European Convention on Human Rights. Remanded at the jail, he was
subjected to two strip searches a day by the prison’s riot squad.

Dee Fennell of Saoradh said the case should have far-reaching
consequences. “What has been exposed in the course of this case is the
corrupt nature of pursued prosecutions against Republicans,” he said.

“What is now apparent, ironically confirmed by a British Diplock Judge
of all people, is that DD McLaughlin was in jail because of a corrupt
Garda culture that acts unchecked and with no balances.

“It is totally unaccountable, supported by draconian legislation and
courts that have also been similarly deemed by organisations including
the United Nations and Amnesty International to be incompatible with
international law practices that commit to ensuring a fair trial.”

“This corruption is not only enabled by the Leinster House
establishment, it is encouraged by the political descendants of the Broy
Harriers and Blueshirts.”

The case has added to pressure for the abolition of the Special Criminal
Courts. On Wednesday night, a packed public meeting, in the Teachers
Club in Dublin, heard strong calls to abolish the courts, a campaign
that is being supported by a range of councillors, TDs, community
activists and trade unionists.

Mr Fennell said that scores of republicans “of various affiliations and
none” had been wrongly incarcerated by the courts and hit out at their
claim to prevent jury intimidation.

“Consistent reports, including from aforementioned human rights
organisations, can find no evidence of jury intimidation prior to the
SCC being initiated,” he said.

“When the SCC hears evidence, as in the case of an ongoing trial
involving male and female Republicans from Belfast and Dublin, even when
the sitting judges rule that evidence was gathered illegally, they
paradoxically rule this evidence admissible.

“‘Belief’ evidence is permitted, with a Garda above a certain rank
allowed identify someone they believe to be in the IRA. This evidence is
admissible and has been ruled as such even when the Garda has admitted
they had no knowledge of the defendant until after their arrest. This
alone is deemed enough evidence by the State to pass the prosecutorial
threshold.

“And of course, all this occurs after an arrested individual has their
right to silence when under questioning removed, with this also adjudged
by the 26 County administration to be supposed evidence of guilt.”

Mr Fennell warned there had been a “not too subtle” invitation from
Justice Colton to the 26 County administration to seek Mr McLaughlin’s
reverse extradition, because the Special Criminal Court in Dublin would
view the “evidence” more favourably.

“It should encourage human rights organisations, many of whom are quick
to highlight the repressive State apparatus being utilised by other
regimes, to initiate reports on the use of draconian legislation to
target political activists here at home. They should no longer be
allowed to continue their dereliction of duty in this regard.”