Heavy Handed policing as Maura Harrington arrives at Mountjoy Prison
national |
consumer issues |
news report 
Thursday March 12, 2009 01:00
by Shell to Sea
Sentenced to one month in prison for protesting against Shell
Another Shell to Sea protester was imprisoned today when retired school teacher Maura Harrington was given a one month sentence for supposedly assaulting a garda on June 11th 2007. She received a round of applause from the people in the court as she was led off the the prison van, much to the judge's displeasure.
Harrington was also ordered to pay a one thousand euro fine and one thousand euro to the Garda benevolent fund (she refused to agree to the latter). She arrived in Dublin tonight to be held in Mountjoy Prison on the North Circular Road. There was the usual heavy police presence, and when supporters gathered around the van to let her know they were there, the gardaí responded in the only way they know how, with violence.
Since the protests against Shell started a large number of people have been injured by garda actions. Some have even been hospitalised, but not a single garda has been pros
ecuted. A huge number of complaints have been made to the Garda Ombudsman Commission, but not one of these has resulted in any action against the police.
Local fisherman Pat O’Donnell commented today that “It’s a sad indictment of the country when a brave lady like Maura is put in jail for defending her community and standing up to corruption and greed; while all the corporate executives and bankers seem to only get golden handshakes for their corruption and greed. Maura Harrington is a political prisoner sentenced at the behest of Shell”
The judge who sentenced Ms Harrington is married to a minister in the current government, which strongly backs the Shell scheme to install a high pressure pipeline across an unstable landscape in Mayo.
Shell to Sea spokesperson Terence Conway stated “On the 11th June 2007 at Pollathomais in the region of 20 local people received injuries in relation to Gardaí forcing their way illegally onto private property, yet no Garda has ever been brought to justice as a result of this incident. Instead now that Shell is about to begin their works in Glengad, it seems that the State operation against the community has kicked into gear”.
Protests agains the sentence, and against the Shell scheme, will continue.
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Comments (2 of 2)
Jump To Comment: 1 2Mary Devins was warned that her position as judge dealing with Shell to Sea protesters was and is compromised due to the fact that she is married to Fianna Fail minister Jimmy Devins. She poo-pooed this in court.
All the judgements she has given in every case have been against Shell toSea suporters,and not one against the Gardai or security men.
It is time now for the Irish people to stand up against the traitors in FIanna Fail who are the instigators of this debacle. This is another Fianna Fail crime that the police will not investigate (why?) because they controll the police, the Judges and most of the media. More worrying is the fact that none of the opposition parties are saying anything about this apart from Sinn Fein and a few smaller individuals.
We will not be able to administer justice to bankers.police thugs, judges etc untill the whole political system is changed to a truly democratic one. the people must stop suporting political crooks, or our Country will go down the drain.
I thank Maura Harrington for her courage and her tenacity in standing up to these traitors. Anybody that knows her knows of her honesty Mary DEvins should be dismissed as a judge for her crimes.
facebook group fro solidarity with Maura Harrington - if you are on facebook, please join
http://groups.to/mauraharrington/
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