Supt Mick Larkin protected by the justice department and media RTE
Supt Mick Larkin protected by the justice department ?
Another political connected garda just gets moved sideways when he commits a crime and the political DPP solicitors protect him
Cover up and cover up in the Gardai
http://www.indymedia.ie/article/96213?
Court rules Garda Supt. M. Larkin responsible for Violation of the Rights of Shell to Sea activists.
On Thursday 25th March 2010 at Belmullet District Court, charges against 9 Shell to Sea protesters were withdrawn or dismissed by Judge Gerard Haughton, because the '9' had been unlawfully detained following their arrest and they were not brought to court 'as soon as practicable', amounting to a 'conscious and deliberate violation of their constitutional rights'.
In the 'test' case of Mr Eoin Lawless, potentially effecting all of the 9, the court ruled that the accused was/were held for an unreasonable amount of time before being charged, they were denied 'station bail' and were unreasonably delayed before being brought to court to allow them to apply for release on bail. Barrister Leo Mulrooney, acting for the 9, had put it to Garda Superintendent Michael Larkin that he had failed in his duty to vindicate the rights of the prisoners, and when asked to account to the court for his inaction, Judge Gerard Haughton expressed dissatisfaction with Supt. Larkin's explanation.
On Sunday 28th June 2009, just after the arrival in Broadhaven Bay of Shell's pipe-laying ship, the Solitaire, a number of Shell to Sea activists set up obstacles to Shell vehicles travelling to the Shell site at Glengad with pipe-laying machinery. At approximately 2pm a simple tripod made from 21ft scaffold poles was erected in the middle of the road close to the Glengad site. A gentleman who came to be known as 'Tripod Man' climbed the tripod, hung a seat from the top of it and strapped himself on with a safety harness. Shell vehicles were blocked from the site while he remained in this position until approximately 5.30pm. A scaffold had to be erected to remove him and he was subsequently arrested and detained by Gardaí.
Three other individuals, including Mr Eoin Lawless, were also arrested as they approached the scene to witness the actions of the man on the tripod. Mr Lawless was arrested as he took notes at the scene of the tripod. A Garda stole his notebook and he was arrested for the 'public order offence' of trying to retrieve his personal property from the offending Garda.
At approximately 8pm on the same day, as the scaffolding was being dismantled from around the tripod, and the road cleared, 5 other individuals lay down and locked on to each other with fortified arm tubes, in a star formation in the centre of the road a few hundred metres closer to the Shell site. Specialist cutting equipment was required to remove the protesters from the 'lock-on' and they were arrested at approximately 2am.
Work was hindered for a period of about 12 hours; 4 men and 5 women had been arrested, 9 in all.
They were detained overnight and brought to court the following day at 5.30pm, where Judge Mary Devins denied all 9 legal aid and denied 7 of them bail. 7 were further remanded to prison for a few days longer until a case could be brought to the high court to secure their release. The High Court overruled the Devins decisions, the women were released on Wednesday 1st July and the men were were released on Thursday 2nd July.
Belmullet District Court Hearing
The 9 cases were eventually adjourned to Belmullet for hearing on Wednesday 24th March 2010.
Barrister Leo Mulrooney made an application to Judge Gerard Haughton to strike out the charges against the 9 on the basis that the violations of their rights to liberty were so grave that it was the positive duty of this District Court to vindicate their rights by not proceeding any further with the cases being prosecuted against them.
And so the legal argument began.
One of those arrested was Mr Eoin Lawless. Mr Lawless' case is the one that was used as the 'test' case in examining the whether rights had been violated or not, having regard to all of the 9 who were arrested and detained in similar circumstances.
The circumstances of the arrest and detention of Eoin Lawless.
Mr Lawless had been arrested on the public road at 2.20pm on Sunday 28th June. He was put into a prison van and transported for detention inside the Shell site. At 4.30pm he was brought to Ballina Garda station in a prison truck, where he arrived at 5.30pm. He was charged with Public Order offences at 9.15pm. He was detained in custody till the following day and brought to court at 5.30pm on Monday 29th, 27 hours after his arrest.
Mr Mulrooney raised questions about the length of Mr Lawless' detention before being charged, and the length of his detention before being brought to court. When a person is arrested on Public Order (minor) charges, he must be processed quickly, released or charged within a reasonable time period, and if charged, must be brought before court, and a special sitting arranged if necessary, 'as soon as is practicable'. Every moment that an accused spends in custody, while his presumption of innocence is intact, should be avoided unless necessity dictates that it cannot be avoided.
Explanation Required.
Judge Gerard Haughton agreed at this stage that there was an onus on the prosecution to establish the lawful detention of the accused, and this was an issue on which the prosecutors had to satisfy him.
In other words, Garda Supt. Michael Larkin had some explaining to do. He took the stand to give evidence.
The Evidence of Garda Superintendent Michael Larkin.
Supt. Larkin told the court how he was the officer in charge of 'Operations at Glengad'. He had made an operational decision to set up a 'Prisoner Processing Operation' on the Shell works site at Glengad. He had decided that the facilities at Belmullet Garda station were not sufficient to deal with 'prisoners', and even if they could use the station cells, there wasn't sufficient staff on duty at the station to deal with prisoners, as “Gardaí were all down at the Shell site at Glengad”, he said.
The Context of Supt. Larkin's evidence.
Over the course of May, June and July 2009, covering the period of Shell pipe-laying works at Glengad, hundreds of Gardaí were stationed within the confines of the Shell site at Glengad. In effect a huge Garda barracks was set up on the Shell site. Belmullet Garda Station operations and staff were simply moved to the Shell site. Coaches transported hundreds of Gardaí (Public Order Units, Riot Squad, armed Gardaí, rank and file) in and out of the site on a daily basis. Gardaí and IRMS security personnel (described by journalist Michael McCaughan as 'a ragtag militia with links to eastern European Mercenaries' [1]), combined forces to protect the pipe-laying works. Portacabins, kitchens, toilets, washing facilities, rest areas were constructed and a whole 'Garda Suite' was set up to accommodate the huge numbers of Gardaí and Shell security. The site was packed with Garda vehicles, Garda prison vans and a Garda prison truck. A number of hi-tech Garda Command & Control vehicles were set up as offices for senior Garda officers including Supt. Michael Larkin and a number of Garda Inspectors. CCTV cameras were set up all over the site and senior officers would at all times have been monitoring the security operation from within their 'Garda Suites' and the 'Communication Facilities' of the 'Command & Control' vehicles. It was in this context that Garda Supt. Michael Larkin gave evidence of the detention of the 9 accused, from knowledge acquired in the office of his 'Private Command Vehicle' where he said he was “fully aware of developments”.
Supt. Larkin continues.
Supt. Larkin said that he would have become aware of the arrest, and the reasons for the arrest of Mr Lawless within a half an hour, (2.20 – 2.50pm). At 5.50 pm, at which point Mr Lawless was a prisoner at Ballina Garda station, and in custody for 3½ hours, Supt. Larkin contacted the Ballina court clerk with a view to arranging a special sitting of the Ballina District Court the following day. He said he had also spoken to Judge Devins himself, and she said that she would not be available till 5.30pm on Monday 29th , almost 24 hours later. In cross examination Supt. Larkin conceded that he did not ask Judge Devins to come earlier. He did not ask the court clerk to ask another judge to come earlier. He did not make any effort to inquire about the availability, logistics, transport or processing of prisoners to another court such as a Galway or Dublin court for 10.30 am on the Monday, to expedite their application for bail. Supt. Larkin said he was “quite happy” with the arrangements already made with Judge Devins and “didn't take the matter any further”.
Mr Mulrooney put it to Supt. Larkin that he had failed in his duty to vindicate the right to liberty of the accused by failing in his duty to bring Mr Lawless before a district court having jurisdiction to grant him bail, as soon as practicable.
Supt. Larkin said that he believed he had fulfilled his obligation.
Mr Mulrooney then presented some case law to the judge and made submissions that the denial of Mr Lawless' liberty for over 27 hours was a 'conscious and deliberate violation of his constitutional rights' and it was open to the court, having regard to case law, to find that this was 'an outrage' as a matter of law and, in those circumstances, the judge had the discretion to choose not to proceed any further with the case against Mr Lawless.
Then, to give everyone a chance to study the case law, the court adjourned till the next day, Thursday 25th.
Court adjourned till following day.
Judge Haugton started Thursday's proceedings with a judgement of his findings of the facts and the law in relation to the detention of Mr Lawless.
He said that Mr Lawless was entitled to be conveyed to a Garda station without unreasonable delay, be charged without unreasonable delay, and be brought before a court without unreasonable delay. If one judge is unavailable, another may take his/her place in any place. The onus is on the prosecution to establish beyond reasonable doubt that the accused is held in custody in accordance with lawfulness.
Unlawful Detention.
Judge Haughton ruled that there was no explanation from Garda Supt. Michael Larkin for the length of time that Mr Lawless was detained at the place of arrest.
“Mr Lawless was unlawfully detained by 4.30pm”, the judge ruled.
There was no explanation for the delay of 7 hours in charging Mr Lawless, which further exacerbated the unlawful nature of the detention, said the judge.
It was Supt. Larkin's responsibility to bring Mr Lawless before a court 'as soon as is practicable', and the arrangement for a 5.30pm sitting the following day did not relieve Supt. Larkin of his statutory duty to arrange a court sitting sooner than that.
No consideration whatsoever was given by Supt. Larkin to bring Mr Lawless to the Galway court, a full seven hours earlier, or to any other courthouse. No consideration was given to asking the court clerk to ask another judge to come at an earlier time.
Supt. Larkin's failure to consider other options was not explained or justified by the evidence of Supt Larkin and Judge Haughton was satisfied that the defendant was not brought before a court 'as soon as is practicable'. The judge ruled that Mr Lawless was 'unlawfully detained' when he was brought before the special sitting of Ballina District court at 5.30pm on Monday 29th June 2009.
Submissions of Barrister Leo Mulrooney.
Barrister Mr Leo Mulrooney, had made submissions in relation to the issues which may affect the decision of the judge in proceeding or striking out the case. Was the unlawful detention of the accused an 'an excusable illegality' or 'a conscious and deliberate violation of constitutional rights'? Mr Mulrooney asked the judge to find that it was the latter and suggested that the court must vindicate the constitutional rights of the accused. The right to liberty must be guarded jealously, he said by way of closing submission, and he asked the judge to dismiss the charges.
Conscious and Deliberate Violations of the Rights of the Accused.
Judge Haughton said that he was satisfied that the state and Supt. Larkin had 'consciously and deliberately violated the rights of the accused', but not with any 'bad faith'. However that was of little comfort to the accused, who had been unlawfully detained for 27 hours, said the judge, and it was now necessary for him in this court to put 'his stamp of approval or disapproval' on what happened to Mr Lawless.
The judge concluded by saying that it was appropriate to vindicate the rights of Mr Lawless by dismissing the charges against him
Consequently, because of the potential of this judgement to affect the cases of the other 8 accused in exactly the same way, Inspector Joe McKenna, prosecuting for the State, withdrew the charges without proceeding any further with them.
The significance of this judgement in favour of Shell to Sea activists is clear. For the last few years campaigners have complained about different 'illegalities' attached to the activities and behaviour of Shell and the Gardaí. Those 'illegalities' have been presented and argued in the courts to excuse the actions of protesters, but the judges take the view that nothing is unlawful unless a court of law decides that it is. Suggestions to the courts that environmental degradation, health and safety failures, human rights abuses and economic treason are 'illegal' fall on the deaf ears of judges who say that campaigners are not the arbiters of what is lawful, unlawful or otherwise. It's the function of the courts to decide what's legal or illegal, they'll say. Right or wrong doesn't come into it.
But here is a definitive judgement from a court of law that the State and the Gardaí are responsible for the unlawful detention of Shell to Sea protesters and a violation of their fundamental and constitutional rights, because of the conscious and deliberate actions of Garda Superintendent Michael Larkin,
This is the second time that Judge Gerard Haughton, a 'moveable' judge, has come to Belmullet for a week long special court sitting. In December he convicted everyone before him. It appeared to many attending his court that he has a selective approach to considering evidence in favour of the Gardaí. This time was different, with some cases dismissed and many withdrawn. Some people who attended court take the view that Judge Gerard Haughton wanted, in this case, to use the opportunity to be seen to be fair and even-handed in dealing with Shell to Sea cases, and chose to give Shell to Sea activists a break for that reason. Others take the view that the law was so clearly outlined to him by barrister Leo Mulrooney, that any judgement other than the one taken would have been manifestly unjust and unfair, and the judge wasn't going to risk the embarrassment of an injunction being sought against him by way of High Court Judicial Review.
There was clearly no other lawful option to the court other than to vindicate the '9'.
[1]. Taking on Shell Oil in Ireland: The Strange Saga of Pat O'Donnell, by Michael McCaughan – Towards Freedom : http://www.shelltosea.com/content/taking-shell-oil-irel...nnell
Special thanks to barrister Leo Mulrooney.
By eirigi
The phrase ‘thanks a million, big fella’ became synonymous with the endemic corruption of the Irish political and business elite in the 1990s.
“Thanks a million, big fella” was Charles Haughey’s grateful response to the ‘big fella’ Ben Dunne, who had slipped banks drafts totalling #210,000 into Haughey’s pocket. It encapsulated the cosy and corrupt relationship between politics and business - two of the most prominent and powerful figures in both spheres casually signing off on business.
There is no doubt that the shocking phrase ‘Give me your name or I will rape you’ will be one to define the corrupt relationship between the Twenty-Six County state and corporate interests in the early years of this century.
Given the extensive media coverage over the last number of days, most will know by now, that this particularly shameful phrase was uttered by a Garda sergeant as he travelled with two colleagues to Belmullet garda station where two young women, arrested during a Shell to Sea protest, were being held in Garda custody.
Shocking as the conversation between the Gardai was; involving, as it did, casual references to sexual violence against women, for many involved in the Shell to Sea campaign it came as no surprise that both threats and actual violence are the modus operandi of the Gardai in north Mayo.
For almost a decade, simple acts of resistance by the community in Erris have met with bullying, threats, intimidation, vilification and casual violence at the hands of both Gardai and Shell’s private army IRMS.
There have been countless incidents of protests being violently broken up by Gardai, of campaigners being assaulted and thrown down ditches, of women being threatened with rape, of elderly people being flung into fences, of young people being beaten and constantly harassed and of high profile campaigners being charged and imprisoned on trumped up charges.
That this community continues to struggle and refuses to bow down is testimony to their bravery and determination and to the justness of their cause. Threats of sexual violence against women, while absolutely shocking and reprehensible, have unfortunately been a feature of the policing of protests in Erris.
At a press conference last Thursday [April 7], it was publicly revealed that similar threats were made to Erris woman Brid Ni Sheighin back in 2006. During an early morning protest, a local sergeant was recorded making threats of sexual violence against Ni Sheighin to her husband.
It is clear that Gardai view threats of sexual violence as a legitimate form of intimidation in an attempt to discourage women from getting involved in the Shell to Sea campaign. Those threats have failed and women continue to play an active and leading role in the campaign, both locally and around the country. The day after the ‘rape tape’ was publicly revealed, a young woman was punched in the stomach by Gardai while involved in a protest at the Shell compound in Aughoose and required medical attention.
Following days of blanket press coverage and as public anger mounted, senior Gardai were eventually forced to issue a limp apology for the rape comments. However, their instincts, like those of the Catholic Church, were to place the interests of the institution first and to protect its members.
So, in a similar vein to the Catholic bishops who transferred paedophile priests to another parish, the Garda superintendent charged with investigating this matter transferred the Gardai involved from Belmullet to desk duties in Castlebar. Given the attitude of the newly transferred guards, the women of Castlebar will have little confidence that reports of sexual violence will be treated sensitively. Moving the problem to another ‘parish’, does not deal with the problem. Gardai have been consistently violent to campaigners in Mayo and have displayed appalling attitudes towards women.
Throughout last week, the Garda press office attempted to downplay the significance of the recordings and to minimise what was said. It appears that sustained pressure was exerted on RTE not to play the recordings or to even mention the word rape, at one point the broadcaster downplayed the rape comments by making vague references to “derogatory” comments made by Gardai about two women in their custody.
In typically servile fashion, RTE played ball with the Gardai until they were forced by the weight of public opinion, combined with the fact that the comments had gone viral, to air the recordings. In a further effort to intimidate the two women concerned, the Garda press office leaked their personal details to certain gutter journalists.
While the Shell to Sea campaign has regularly highlighted the human rights abuses against campaigners, last week’s events brought unprecedented public focus on the nature of policing in Corrib.
For a decade, the Twenty-Six County state has facilitated Shell’s dangerous gas project and its expropriation of [euro]10 billion of gas from the Corrib field. At times, it has mobilised unprecedented levels of state force in support of this. For example, during the autumn of 2008, the picturesque Broadhaven Bay resembled a heavily militarised zone as the Solitaire, the world’s largest pipe laying ship arrived to lay the offshore section of the Corrib gas pipeline.
The Dublin government summoned two navy ships, the LE Orla and LE Aisling, to the area where they joined the Garda Water Unit. On shore, the Garda Emergency Response Unit and Public Order Unit were in position, backed up by hundreds of uniformed Gardai. In addition, Shell employed several hundred security guards hired from a private security firm I-RMS, run by a former Free State army ranger, complete with its own water unit.
eirigi has consistently highlighted the mistreatment of Pat O’Donnell, one of a minority of local fishermen who refused to accept Shell’s bribes. Several weeks after refusing a payment from Shell to surrender his fishing rights in Broadhaven Bay, Gardai arrested him on two separate occasions while fishing in the bay. In June 2009, one of his fishing vessels, the Iona Isle, was sunk by armed and masked men who boarded his vessel. Several weeks after this incident, Gardai impounded Pat’s other vessel. Last year, the Chief spent six months in prison on trumped up charges.
Shell to Sea has not been alone in highlighting human rights abuses against those opposed to Shell’s dangerous project and the giveaway of Irish natural resources. Human rights defenders Frontline commissioned an independent review into the policing of protests in Corrib.
The purpose of the report was to examine whether those engaged in protests against Shell’s dangerous gas project could be considered human rights defenders and to consider any related human rights issues, particularly with regard to the right to defend human rights. It examined a number of specific incidents, including the impounding of Pat O’Donnell’s fishing boat in 2008, the serious assault on Willie Corduff in 2009 and the violent Garda attack on campaigners at Pollathomas pier in 2007.
Frontline’s findings were published last year and it found that the impounding of Pat O’Donnell’s boat was unlawful and the motive was to “to prevent Mr O’Donnell going to sea and disrupting the laying of the pipeline”.
The Gardai were acting in the interests of a private corporation by denying Pat O’Donnell his right to fish the waters of Broadhaven Bay and his right to protest by illegally impounding his boat.
At Pollathomas pier in 2007, Shell contractors attempted to illegally gain access to land owned by local resident Paddy McGrath, Gardai violently forced through the Shell digger and, in the process, 20 protestors were injured. Subsequently, 18 separate complaints were made to the Garda Ombudsman and, while the commission recommended that disciplinary action be taken against Superintendent Larkin who was in charge of policing on the day, the Gardai found “no breach of discipline” on the part of Larkin. The Garda Ombudsman sought an explanation of this decision from the Gardai; none was forthcoming.
In relation to the attack on Willie Corduff by IRMS goons in 2009, Frontline challenged the IRMS claim that he was not assaulted and concluded that Willie Corduff was set upon and kicked and that his medical records demonstrated that he suffered bruising as a result of kicking.
The report also pointed to a level of collusion between senior Gardai and IRMS, with Superintendent Michael Larkin issuing a statement to the media claiming that Willie Corduff “was escorted from the site and spoke to Gardai and it was decided in the best interests that he be transferred to a hospital that that he complained of feeling unwell”.
Frontline found that he was not ‘escorted from the site’ as suggested by Larkin, rather that he was taken away by ambulance on a spinal board and cervical collar on a stretcher and that two Gardai were present when he was taken away.
Of a total of 111 complaints made to the Garda Ombudsman Commission relating to the policing of protests in Corrib, Frontline reported that just seven files were compiled for the DPP and that none of these files have led to any prosecutions.
An application from the Garda Ombudsman to investigate the policing of protest in Corrib was refused by former Twenty-Six County minister for justice Brian Lenihan in 2007. Frontline has called for a human rights lawyer to be appointed to Corrib to review policing and for the Garda Ombudsman to examine the entire policing operation.
The events of last week have genuinely shocked public opinion.
A range of organisations, including Amnesty International, the Irish Council for Civil Liberties, National Women’s Council, Rape Crisis Network, Afri, Unite the Union and numerous political parties and representatives have issued statements in support of the two women, condemning Garda trivialisation of rape and calling for independent investigations into policing in Corrib. Both Amnesty International and Frontline have agreed to deploy human rights monitors to Corrib within the next few weeks.
Last Friday [April 8], several hundred people, the vast majority of them women, gathered outside Leinster House in solidarity with the two women and in support of the right of all women to protest without fear of rape or violence. Calls were made for a fully independent international investigation into policing in Corrib.
eirigi supports calls for an independent international investigation and extends its continued support and solidarity to the community in Erris, who continue to resist state and corporate power. The May Day bank holiday offers an opportunity for people from around Ireland to mobilise in support of the Erris community and the demands of the Shell to Sea campaign.
eirigi encourages all those who support the right to protest, who support the right of communities to live free from state and corporate harassment, and the right of the people of Ireland to ownership of their natural resources to mobilise to Mayo on May Day. Shell’s work in Corrib must be stopped and the deal which secured the private corporate ownership of Irish oil and gas must be scrapped.
The stakes are getting higher and a strong and defiant message must be sent to the state and Shell: “We defy you! Do your worst!”
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