Posted by Jim on March 1, 2014
The disclosures made in John Downey’s case could have altered the
course of Gerry McGeough’s trial or appeal, according to his legal
team, as the evidence presented at the Old Bailey could have confirmed
that 216 “pardons” had been issued to republicans.
During the 2007 assembly elections, the veteran republican stood
against Sinn Fein as an independent candidate in Fermanagh/South
Tyrone. He was arrested as he left the election count centre in Omagh
and was subsequently charged with attempting a border IRA attack which
killed a British Army (UDR) man in 1981.
In 2011 he was tried and sentenced to 20 years imprisonment, but after
extensive legal efforts was released after two years in January 2013,
in compliance with the 1998 Good Friday Agreement.
Mr McGeough has previously said that he was given assurances by Sinn
Fein’s Gerry Kelly in 2000 that he would not be charged with any
offence if he returned to the Six Counties.
“This vindicates our position,” he said on Thursday. “We have been
saying all along that these amnesties existed and I was being singled
out for persecution because of my views.”
Mr McGeough said that during his trial the British government was asked
for disclosure of documents on the amnesty issue but denied they
existed. He believes those who knew about the existence of the
amnesties are involved in a cover up.
“There’s a DUP, Sinn Fein and MI5 axis running this whole thing,” he
argued. “For the DUP to say they are surprised is play acting ahead of
elections.”
The former Sinn Fein ard comhairle [high council] member believes he
was singled out for arrest in 2007 because of his opposition to Sinn
Fein in Tyrone.
“This was a means of blocking me because I was a political threat,” he
said. “It was a huge injustice done to me and my family.”
Mr McGeough’s solicitor Aiden Carlin said as a result of this week’s
disclosures, the case would now be referred to the Criminal Cases
Review Commission.
IRSP IN THE DARK
The Irish Republican Socialist Party has said none of the ‘letters of
assurance’ given to Sinn Fein supporters were ever received by anyone
linked with it.
Party spokesman Michael McLaughlin said the process was a “murky back
room deal” which had left INLA Volunteers exposed.
“No republican loyal to the republican socialist movement received
these cover letter,” he said.
“The murky back room deal between republican OTRs loyal to the Sinn
Fein leadership and British establishment sums up the squalid nature of
how society currently deals with legacy of the war.
“No attempts have been made to inclusively deal the OTRs, loyalist or
republican, and until such a time we collectively and sincerely find an
independent non-party political approach we are doomed to repeat the
cycle of mistrust and instability.”
“Everyone and their dog knew full well that provisional republicans
were given immunity whilst republicans not loyal to Sinn Fein were
hounded from pillar to post.”
There were also questions about those Sinn Fein figures who received
royal pardons, believed to number between 30 and 40 individuals. In
light of unionist demands for the OTR letters to be rescinded, the
distinction may be significant, as royal pardons cannot be overturned
or abrogated.
Mr McLaughlin said there had been several situations recently when
clearly political motivated prosecutions had been instigated against
those opposed to Sinn Fein.
“A key factor in the debate we need to collectively have is on the
powers British intelligence agencies have and their control over all
aspects of all political institutions.
“Faceless intelligence operative can sit in Palace Barracks and
determine which combatant and from which political tradition to
prosecute”
“Because the current approach to the legacy of the past is not
independent or transparent it allows these murky intelligence forces to
continue to use issues like ‘OTRs’ as political weapons within all the
current institutions of Stormont.”
Posted by Jim on February 27, 2014
The letter below was sent to Mr. Gerry Adams and to Mr. Kelly on February 13, 2012 from the Free Gerry McGeough Campaign Committee Chairpersons:
THE LAST THREE PARAGRAPHS TELL IT ALL!
February 13, 2012
REPLY TO SINN FEIN FROM GERRY McGEOUGH CAMPAIGN COMMITTEE
A chairde,Recently several prominent supporters of the campaign to free Gerry McGeough forwarded emails sent from Sinn Fein for our comments. These emails say that Sinn Fein has called for Gerry McGeough’s release from Maghaberry and therefore our justice campaign should “focus our efforts on the British government, which is responsible for his imprisonment, and on the Irish government, which is a co-signatory to the Weston Park agreement.”
Gerry McGeough has been imprisoned by the British for more than a year at Maghaberry. Clearly the combined weight of court challenges, calls from political parties including Sinn Fein , together with pressure through any and all other political mechanisms, have not yet been sufficient to compel the British to free him. Like any other justice campaign, we can only try for greater efforts by any and every source open to us, until the British give Gerry McGeough the freedom to which we all agree he is entitled.
The primary focus of efforts to pressure the British crown has been legal challenges in British courts, thus far including an abuse of process application, a Diplock trial defense, appeals, and judicial review. Even now a ruling on his pending judicial review is imminent, and could mean freedom for Gerry McGeough.
Given what has already occurred in his case, and indeed in the long history of British courts dealing with Irish Republican cases, there is no assurance of justice for Gerry McGeough. If the crown judge rules against him, the only alternative means of increasing pressure on the British will be to ask more from political parties. As a party which includes a Deputy First Minister, and whose backing helped grant David Ford a renewed term as Stormont Justice Minister, Sinn Fein’s help would be pivotal.
However, the campaign is by no means limited to Sinn Fein. Eamon O’Cuiv, of Fianna Fail, and several SDLP members have visited Gerry McGeough at Maghaberry, and pledged support. Their support was only enlisted when members of Sinn Fein who support Gerry McGeough advised that their requests within party channels for effective rather than token action were stonewalled.
We then received emails and read published letters criticizing Gerry McGeough and our campaign, for not trusting exclusively Sinn Fein; and for accepting help from Fianna Fail and the SDLP despite past policies of those parties regarding Republicans. We will continue to lobby all potential channels of support that might assist in pressuring the British crown directly or through the Irish government.
Gerry McGeough is imprisoned by the British on charges that he joined the IRA in 1975 and that he was wounded in an IRA engagement with a member of the notorious British Ulster Defense Regiment, during the time of the Hunger Strike of 1981.The evidence trotted out against him included medical testimony and photographs of bullet wounds he suffered as an IRA Volunteer, as well as nearly 8 years of imprisonment for IRA activities in Germany and the United States. Given this background, and Britain’s desire to use this case as a precedent against other Republicans, it is difficult to see any mechanism for compelling the crown to release Gerry McGeough without Sinn Fein intensifying its efforts.
We also received inquiries about how much they had already done for Gerry McGeough. We hesitated before making this reply. The campaign is supported by a broad spectrum. It includes Sinn Fein members and party supporters, as well as others with very different views. The campaign is united by the one aim of freedom for Gerry McGeough. We want to work constructively with Sinn Fein and all others who can help win his freedom. We have no other agenda.
We were reluctant to clarify the record regarding Gerry McGeough, since an honest response might create further difficulties or even be cited as a reason to do nothing more on the issue. It now appears, given the decision to publish this correspondence in AP/RN, that we have no alternative.
We wish to acknowledge again that after Gerry McGeough’s arrest in 2007, Michelle Gildernew wrote one of the character reference letters which were introduced during his bail hearing, and this letter was helpful to McGeough’s solicitors. On a couple of occasions, during the four years of court proceedings, members of Sinn Fein attended the trial for Gerry and his co-defendant.
However there was a telling disparity between these actions and the far more frequent, vocal, and visible interventions by prominent DUP members, led by Arlene Foster and Maurice Morrow against Gerry McGeough.
DUP intervention, climaxed by Foster and Morrow’s presence in court to influence and celebrate the verdict, was patently obvious to the public and Diplock judge and conveyed a clear signal that the case against McGeough meant far more to the DUP, than to any other political faction
It is also appreciated that Sinn Fein members, most recently Ray McCartney in December, visited Gerry McGeough amongst other Republican prisoners at Maghaberry and said that his case, among others, and the protest against brutal H-Block like strip-searches, were high on the agenda. However, David Ford, who presides over these injustices, then had his term extended by Sinn Fein in partnership with the DUP, and was thereby empowered to continue these injustices.
We accept that the British broke the Weston Park agreement by jailing Gerry McGeough on thirty year old charges. Britain’s stance in prosecuting former IRA members while conferring an apparent amnesty for murders by British troopers or crown constables is hypocritical. Sinn Fein, better than anyone, knows the difference between token statements meant to do no more than placate supporters, and effective action on issues of importance. Without Sinn Fein, as the representative of former IRA members during these talks, demanding that “unambiguous” pledges be honored, it is apparent that the crown feels free to break its word with impunity.
Gerry McGeough’s solicitors urged the British crown court to follow the reading of Weston Park advanced by Sinn Fein. The British and Stormont justice ministry rejected this interpretation out of hand. The trial was suspended pending an abuse of process hearing. No one from Sinn Fein took the witness stand on Gerry McGeough’s behalf. His solicitors, who have strong contacts with Sinn Fein, were forced to call a loyalist, William Smith, to testify for Gerry McGeough. The application was denied and the Diplock trial continued. We are left to speculate whether testimony from any Sinn Fein representative about what was agreed at Weston Park might have altered the outcome and halted the trial before Gerry McGeough was tried and jailed.
Now an application for a judicial review has been lodged, and a decision is pending. In addition to the Weston Park pledges, McGeough contends that he should be eligible for immediate release because the 8 years in jail in Germany and America should be applied to satisfy the 2 year GFA release requirements. His solicitors cited a dozen comparable cases where Republicans imprisoned in other jurisdictions had their time credited by means of a pardon (Royal Prerogative of Mercy). They were able to obtain and produce copies of these pardons which were attached as exhibits in support.
In making this application, Gerry McGeough, in a sworn affidavit, said that while an elected member of the Sinn Fein Ard Chomairle, he often spoke to Gerry Kelly on the negotiations regarding his own case as well as other On-the-Runs (OTRS). McGeough attested that he was specifically told by Gerry Kelly that he was on the list of cases being negotiated, and finally told that he was free to go home to Tyrone without fear of arrest or charges. Gerry Kelly says that “this was not the case.”
Gerry McGeough was so sure of this conversation that he not only returned to Tyrone for the first time in years, but began public preparations to move his family there, including applying for planning permission, building a house, enrolling his children in school and moving around openly. McGeough’s solicitors contend that he was removed from the list some time after he left Sinn Fein, and arrested because he ran as an Independent Republican.
After this application was argued, the crown judge directed that the record be kept open for an affidavit from Gerry Kelly. Kelly had previously declined to cooperate with McGeough’s solicitors in preparing an affidavit that would have supported him. Our understanding is that Kelly’s solicitors on January 12th sent a letter which was such that McGeough’s solicitors had to incorporate it in a submission that made reference to the “obvious tension” between McGeough’s and Kelly’s positions.
Gerry McGeough, now in his 50s, has suffered heart attacks since his arrest in 2007. Last week he was hospitalized again for his heart ailment and will need further surgery. He is separated from his wife and four young children and imprisoned at Maghaberry in conditions which can only exacerbate his medical problems. He is in jail on 30 year old charges that were clearly part of the IRA’s struggle against British rule. It is difficult to imagine the frustrations that even someone who has served 8 years in jail, must feel to be held in a British prison in the conditions at Maghaberry on decades old charges, in the midst of what we are often told is a new political dispensation. It must be especially hurtful, when members of Sinn Fein or supportive organizations in America, advise that they have been discouraged from campaigning for more pressure to free Gerry McGeough, and are told to “focus their efforts elsewhere”
Slan
FREE GERRY McGEOUGH CAMPAIGN
Posted by admin on February 26, 2014
Donegal republican John Downey walked free today after a court in London
said charges against him of taking part in an IRA campaign in 1982
amounted to “an abuse of process”. But the decision to release him has
created confusion and anger in the north of Ireland over a previously
secret scheme to tackle the issue of OTRs — those ‘on the run’ from
outstanding conflict-related prosecutions.
The case against Mr Downey collapsed at the Old Bailey after the judge
acknowledged that he was one of almost two hundred people who have
received letters assuring them they did not face arrest and prosecution
on IRA charges.
The decision was announced at a hearing into whether his trial should go
ahead for an attack in Hyde Park in London in which four British
soldiers died.
The deal between the British government and Sinn Fein to provide
assurance for certain republicans facing outstanding prosecutions had
never been detailed before.
Mr Justice Sweeney heard from Sinn Fein’s Gerry Kelly that a total of
187 people had received letters from the British government confirming
that they did not face arrest or prosecution.
The letters formed an ad-hoc mechanism to resolve the long-running issue
of OTRs. The court heard that the first letters had come from 10 Downing
Street, when Tony Blair was Prime minister.
Blair’s chief of staff, Jonathan Powell, told the hearing he was the
signatory of the initial letters. Later signatories to similar letters
were senior officials in the Northern Ireland Office, he said.
“Although this had not been the solution first envisaged by the British
government in its wish to deal with this particular aspect of the past,
nevertheless it was intended to provide a solution that worked in
practice even if more slowly and in a more cumbersome and less universal
way than had been wished by those negotiating on behalf of Sinn Fein.”
Former British Direct Ruler Peter Hain told the court that an
“administrative scheme” that had begun as a temporary measure, became
the means by which the issue of OTRS was dealt with, when efforts to
establish a formal mechanism failed.
“The scheme addressed the position of individuals who, through Sinn
Fein, put their names forward,” Hain said.
“To qualify for consideration, the offences for which each individual
who believed he or she might be suspected, or ‘wanted’, in some cases
already convicted and having escaped from prison, should have been
committed before the signing of the Good Friday Agreement in 1998 and
have been connected with the conflict in Northern Ireland.
“The group to which the individual concerned was affiliated, ie the IRA,
must adhere to the commitment to cessation of armed conflict.
“Whilst the first cases pressed by Sinn Fein concerned those who lived
and had family in the north of Ireland, the scheme extended to
applicants in the Republic of Ireland who had no such relationships and
to persons whose extradition had been actively sought from within other
jurisdictions.
“The scheme was not limited to offences committed in the north of
Ireland.”
The court judgement did not address the issue of why some OTRs received
letters of assurance while others, such as independent republican Gerry
McGeough, had not. Mr McGeough, a former member of the Sinn Fein
leadership, was released in January last year after serving two years
for an IRA attack near the border in 1981.
Mr Downey received his letter in 2007. The court heard Mr Downey had
attended peace workshops and had played a “central and significant role”
in building relationships between republican and loyalist former
prisoners groups in Derry.
At that time his letter was issued, Mr Downey was still listed on the
British police national computer as wanted by the London police. The
letter he received from the Northern Ireland Office was described by
Crown prosecutors as a “mistake”.
Nevertheless, Mr Downey had successfully relied on the letter to visit
London on several occasions and also to visit members of his family in
Canada. He was inexplicably arrested in May last year at Gatwick airport
on his way to Greece.
In staying the trial of Mr Downey, Mr Justice Sweeney said “there has
been no sensible explanation” for the failures of the system.
Sinn Fein’s Francie Molloy said the judge’s decision was a “good” one.
The MP for Mid Ulster said John Downey should never have been arrested,
because the “on the run” policy to clear people had been part of the
Good Friday Agreement.
But DUP leader Peter Robinson called the conclusion “an outrage and a
dark day for justice”. He said Mr Downey had been handed “a get out of
jail free card” and urged an appeal against the decision.
“Every conceivable avenue should be exhausted. Justice should not have a
sell-by date,” he said.
Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams welcomed the decision. He said that
following the Good Friday Agreement in 1998, it was publicly accepted by
the Dublin and London governments that “an anomaly existed” in respect
of OTRs.
“Both governments gave firm commitments to deal with this matter. A
process was put in place to deal with outstanding cases including that
of John Downey.
“The arrest of John Downey by the London police was in clear breach of
this and of the commitments given by the British government in 2004
during the peace process negotiations at Weston Park and in subsequent
negotiations.
“John Downey should never have been arrested and this has been
vindicated by the court decision.”
Posted by Jim on
BY ASHLEIGH McDONALD – 25 February 2014
A republican activist who posted pictures of serving police officers on Facebook has been acquitted of terror charges after a judge said there was no evidence of sinister reasons for doing so.
Eirigi Press officer Stephen Murney accused police and prosecutors of internment by remand, saying he spent “14 months in custody for nothing” after he was cleared yesterday.
Mr Murney (30), from Derrybeg Terrace in Newry, stood trial earlier this year on seven counts of publishing, collecting and possessing information likely to be of use to terrorists between August 2011 and July 2012.
He was accused of publishing on his Facebook page photographs of police officers on duty.
Speaking outside court having been acquitted on all charges, Mr Murney thanked his legal team and described his period in custody as “internment on remand” and vowed to continue his work as a Press officer with eirigi.
During the Diplock, non-jury trial held at Belfast Crown Court, the prosecution said the photos were found on a computer along with two videos on an iPhone, during a police search of his Newry home in November 2012.
Mr Murney took photos of police officers in June 2012 as the Olympic torch passed through the city.
He took images of officers who were policing a protest in support of republican prisoners and against searches in Maghaberry Prison which were taking place at the time. Mr Murney was part of this protest and was the Press officer for eirigi, which organised the protest. He later published the images on his Facebook page.
Mr Murney also published photographs in August 2011 and July 2012 of himself being stopped and searched by police, as well as collecting and making a record of the policing of a Twelfth parade in Newry which showed the faces of officers.
The court heard that when Mr Murney’s home was searched in November 2012 photos of police officers on duty in Newry and Belfast were found, along with a minute-long video of a police operation on the A1 where a bus believed to be carrying explosives was stopped and searched.
When asked about the images of him being stopped and searched, Mr Murney made the case that he was recording the incidents to show the Committee on the Administration of Justice, as he believed he was being harassed by the PSNI.
Judge Corinne Philpott said: “There is no evidence before this court that eirigi supports violence, or has argued for violent action to be taken against the police, or that the organisation is directly linked to those that support terrorist activity.”
She said the prosecution had failed to prove its claims beyond reasonable doubt and ruled the accused was entitled to an acquittal.
A statement issued on behalf of Mr Murney afterwards said: “Even though it was clear from the very outset that these charges were completely without substance, both the PSNI and prosecution service have persisted with a legalised charade which resulted in my imprisonment from December 2012. There is no other way of describing that charade except as ‘internment by remand’.”
BACKGROUND
Stephen Murney (30) faced seven counts of publishing, collecting and possessing information likely to be of use to terrorists between August 2011 and July 2012. The prosecution claimed the photos were found on a computer and two videos were found on an iPhone after a police search of Murney’s Derrybeg Terrace home in November 2012. He was remanded in custody for 14 months.
Posted by Jim on February 25, 2014
as reported by Irish Central
National AOH President Brendan Moore has said there is frustration among his 80,000 members about the continuing stand-off and negative publicity over the New York parade and the gay marching issue.
Moore points out that the AOH no longer runs the parade yet continues to receive criticism over events surrounding it.They ended their association several years ago for fear of legal entanglement.
The parade is run by the New York St. Patrick’s Day Parade Committee, unaffiliated with the Hibernians, he pointed out.
He stated that he believes Parade Chairman John Dunleavy is no longer an active Hibernian.
He stated that AOH members outside New York were frustrated at how their organization was being portrayed.
“We are an American-wide organization, the largest Irish group in the U.S.,” he stated. “Many of our members in places outside New York really don’t want to focus all the attention on this stand-off in New York. They feel there is much more to the Hibernians story.”
“While it is a big deal to people in New York national Hibernians don’t look at it that way,”
Moore, who lives in New York, said the success story of the AOH in recent years has been partly subsumed in the parade controversy. Several thousand are expected at their biannual conference in St.Louis this summer.
He said new chapters in Fort Worth and Austin in Texas and in Dubuque, Iowa in recent months confirmed that the organization was going from strength to strength. He said there were 2,300 Hibernians now active in Texas with 1,200 women AOH members also.
“That is the message we want to spread,” he said. The AOH is strong and is fighting on important issues such as the dreadful stereotyping of the Irish on St.Patrick’s Day and on immigration reform and the resolution of the peace process in Northern Ireland.”
The organization recently led a successful effort to get Bed, Bath and Beyond to stop selling anti-Irish products and have organized a national campaign against Spencer’s stores on the same issue.
“We have much to do,” said Moore,”Those are our priorities.”