Anti-War Protestor Jailed for Refusing to Accept Ban from Co. Clare

national | anti-war / imperialism | feature

Friday February 13, 2004 01:26

by Fintan Lane: PRO of Irish Anti-War Movement

'I Refused To Accept This Imposition And Stated Frankly That It Was Illegal and Beyond all Law'

Eoin Rice has today been jailed for refusing to accept a ban from Clare. IAWM PRESS RELEASE

From The Newswire: "A Dublin-based anti-war activist, Eoin Rice (35), has this afternoon (12th Feb) been sent to Limerick Prison for refusing to accept a ban from the entire county of Clare as part of his bail conditions.

At a sitting of Shannon District Court, Judge Joseph Mangan told Mr Rice, who was arrested in the aftermath of the December 6th Irish Anti-War Movememt (IAWM) blockade at Shannon airport, that he was adding a ban from County Clare to his bail conditions, which had previously involved a payment of just E5.00. Mr Rice is charged with alleged motoring offences.

Eoin Rice was then taken into custody following his refusal to accept such a ban. His solicitor has been instructed to challenge the ban in the High Court tomorrow, but if that fails Mr Rice will remain in prison until his next hearing, which is on March 18th.

Refusing to accept the new condition, Mr Rice said, as he was being brought away to Limerick Prison: "Judge Mangan sought to augment my bail, previously with no conditions, by banning me from Clare. He would offer no reason or argument for this action. I refused to accept this ridiculous imposition and stated frankly that it was illegal and beyond all law."

Commenting on the jailing of Mr Rice, Dr Fintan Lane, spokesperson for the Irish Anti-War Movement, said: "This particular judge has fallen into the habit of banning all anti-war activists from County Clare, no matter how minor the offence. I suspect the man thinks he's presiding in Stalinist Russia where internal exile was regularly deployed against political dissidents. The attempt to ban Eoin Rice, while on bail for a minor motoring offence, is ludicrous. Mr Rice has our full support and we believe that the course of action that he has taken is an honourable one. The banning of peaceful anti-war protesters from Shannon must stop - it is not Judge Mangan's role to protect the US war machine from peace activists."

Dr Lane, who was himself banned from County Clare for two years by Judge Mangan last April, concluded: "We applaud the stance taken by Eoin Rice and demand his immediate and unconditional release from Limerick Prison. His jailing is an outrage."