A dirty deal to jail a solid republican

Posted by Jim on February 9, 2019

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Saoradh’s view of the conviction in a non-jury court this week of its
former party chairperson in Dublin, Kevin Braney, on the word of a paid
informer.
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At every stage in the struggle against the occupation of this country,
revolutionaries have been met with harsh injustices, and today was no
different. The widely condemned ‘Special Court’ ruled that it has
accepted the word of paid perjurer and liar David Cullen for a second
time.

The ‘Special Court’, although long in its existence, has been operating
in its current form since 1972. The Dublin government took the steps to
establish the court due to the rise in republican resistance since the
introduction of British crown forces onto the streets of the occupied
six counties. Knowing the difficulties the state would face in finding a
jury to convict a person charged with what they deemed ‘republican
offenses’, the state withdrew the jury from the court and appointed
itself judge, jury and if needed, executioner.

The court has since been used mainly to charge republican political
activists and those who refuse to accept the status quo, and this was
never more apparent than today when former Saoradh Dublin Craobh
chairperson Kevin Braney was convicted on the word of paid supergrass
David Cullen. What’s more significant is that Cullen was no stranger to
this case. Long before there was even a hint of accusations being made
against Braney, it was Cullen had found himself sitting in Braney’s
seat. Cullen was initially charged with murder, having being arrested in
possession of a firearm, before he turned state supergrass two days into
his trial.

Dave Cullen had therefore found himself in gaol in March 2013, but after
18 months of living at close quarters with republican prisoners, he was
plucked out of the gaol under the cover of darkness and placed into
protective custody. Armed with the book of evidence from his initial
arrest, Cullen had offered to “fill in any gaps” which might arise in
the states case against his former co accused. The states first attempt
to use Cullen failed miserably, when after over 60 days the trial
collapsed. Having admitted to perjuring himself when asked had he ever
lied in court or interrogation he stunned everyone in the court by
saying he did and exclaiming “I would say anything not to be sitting
over there” pointing towards his former co-accused.

Cullen had also admitted to robbing an employer of 30,000 euro after his
father had gotten him a job in a local garage. When asked how he felt
about it he said he had “absolutely no remorse whatsoever.” Evidence was
also produced that he broke into his fathers house at Christmas knowing
his father was away with his partner and kids, and stole rings and
football jerseys among other things. He also admitted that on another
occasion he had also locked himself in his bathroom while his two young
kids were in the house with his then partner and cut his wrists, leading
to him having to be psychiatrically assessed. This set of circumstances,
in any other other court in the land would be enough to bring the whole
trial down. Not in the ‘Special court’ however. Cullen was allowed to
proceed and his word was eventually accepted by the the three judge
panel who agreed that Cullen was indeed a liar and deceptive but “he was
honest and forthright about his capacity for dishonesty” allowing them
to take his word because this time he was being honest!

The trial eventually collapsed due to the Free State’s failure to
disclose that Cullen had actually told his handlers he didn’t like one
of the men he was giving evidence against. This part of the statement
was not given to the accused and the man in question only received the
vital piece of information as closing speeches were made, when Cullens
statement appeared in another trial but this time this segment of the
statement wasn’t redacted. The trial sensationally collapsed when the
trial judge, who’s courtroom was now full of journalists who had up to
that point refused to report on the case once a supergrass was being
used, was left with no option but to do what should have been done weeks
before, collapse the case, due to the prosecution’s blatant attempt to
obstruct the flow of disclosure.

Cullen was rolled out again two years later, this time he wasn’t such a
willing witness. When questioned by the defense team, he admitted to
having no desire to be there and that the only reason he was in the
court at all was because he had been told by his handlers that he faced
being “kicked out of the Witness Protection Programme if I didn’t help
secure a prosecution”. This time the I’s were dotted and the T’s were
crossed, and two men were handed down life sentences on his word.

Forward on another 18 months and Cullen was back in the court again,
this time to try and convict Braney. The DPP had ruled three years
earlier that Kevin Braney had no case to answer, but having seen how
Cullen’s word was accepted in the previous trial, they decided to cast
the rod again. Kevin Braney, a constant thorn in Free State’s side at
the time was their number one target. Kevin could be seen the length and
breadth of the country at protests for Republican Prisoners,
commemorating fallen Irish revolutionaries or taking a lead in social
activism, such as feeding the homeless from the steps of the GPO.

Cullen meanwhile, who had received a 3 and a half year term for
possession of a weapon, was somehow released long before that sentence
was completed, even though evidence was given that he had been caught
with contraband while in protective custody. Somehow, Cullen who had
received an additional sentence for this contraband, had been released
before the first sentence was up, even though the sentences were to run
concurrently. Another sweetener for the Supergrass.

Details emerged in the court of the life Cullen was living within the
Witness Protection Programme. He was convicted of harassing a girl he
had met while living at his new location. The State, who had tried to
get any details of Cullen’s current life omitted from the court, were
forced to admit that Cullen had posted pictures of the girl on social
media platforms advising people not to contact her and used derogatory
remarks to attack the girl. The girl in question had also given a
statement that she came home to find faeces on her front door with the
word ‘slut’ spelled out. Cullen claimed to be madly in love with the
girl had asked her for a second chance but was issued with an order to
stay away from the girl and fined 500 euro. He refused to pay the fine but
amazingly the Free State decided to foot the bill, citing the fact that
not paying the money could possibly blow Cullen’s cover. The moral
hazard created by this decision should not be underestimated – the
message which was sent from the State to Cullen is that he can go on to
commit other crimes, including against vulnerable people, and that the
State will not allow him to be held responsible.

More details of Cullen’s benefits scheme began to emerge. While
homelessness is the main issue all across the 32 counties, Cullen,
living in another country, has no such worries. He not only receives
100% subsidies on housing, food and drink, he also gets an additional
monthly allowance for socialising while also collecting the full weekly
social welfare allowance. But Cullen’s dishonesty don’t stop with
stealing from his own family and avoiding the payment of fines; he has
also received thousands of euro rent allowance which was to passed on to
the “host country” where he now resides. Instead of passing it on he
kept the large monthly sum for himself. The Free State was again forced
to admit they cannot get the monies owed from Cullen and again have had
to foot the bill for Cullen’s dishonesty. It’s worth noting at this
point that at the time of Cullen’s arrest in 2013, his former landlord
gave evidence that in the two years Cullen lived in his apartment,
Cullen had only paid two moths rent, even though he was receiving full
state rent allowance, and left the homeowner thousands of euro out of
pocket.

A letter to the ‘host nation’ from a driving instructor was also
produced in court. This letter gave evidence that Cullen had kept the
money given to him to learn how to drive. The driving instructor
explained how she became afraid of Cullen and his threatening behavior
towards her, leading to her removing herself as his driving instructor.

A member of the Witness Protection Programme also revealed how Cullen
had contacted someone assigned to look after his needs saying he had no
food and wanted money to “stock up on supplies”. On arriving at Cullen’s
house, the handler noticed Cullen had removed the shelves from the
fridge, and that he then admitted to hiding the food in a different room
in another petty attempt to deceive his handlers. A note was also read
out to which the host nation issued Cullen with a ‘final warning’ as to
his behavior.

In complete contrast, Kevin Braney is a solid Republican political
activist, a devoted husband and loving father to 7 children. Kevin was
held for 2 years in 2013 on two separate trumped up charges and was
acquitted on both. It was a case of ‘internment by remand’ – where an
activist is held in gaol awaiting trial for years, but where the
prosecution has no credible evidence to present to the court, and so the
period of being held on remand is used as an unofficial from of
internment without trial. It is one of a number of dirty tricks used
against Republicans who have dared to fight back against the pretence
that Ireland’s constitutional position has been resolved.

Kevin’s involvement in political activity was born out of the desire to
see the re-unification of this country, and through his efforts, Kevin
has offered far more to the promise of the just and free society
outlined in the 1916 Proclamation of the Republic and the Democratic
Programme of the 1st Dáil than the agents of the neo-colonial state who
have hauled him in and set him up. On Friday last he was convicted on
the word of a self-proclaimed perjurer, liar and thief. That is not
something that should just worry Republican activists, but all sections
of society who believe in the very concept of justice.