Gardaí face personal injuries claim from woman arrested at pro-Palestine event
An Garda Síochána is facing a potential personal injuries claim from a woman who alleges she was arrested at a pro-Palestine event, before being detained and strip-searched, as a result of her political views.
The woman's representatives, Belfast-based human rights lawyers Phoenix Law, wrote to Garda Commissioner Drew Harris on May 14 to announce the claim on behalf of its client, a female protester who participated in a Mothers Against Genocide protest at Leinster House on March 30.
That event, held to protest the ongoing violence in Gaza, saw 11 protesters, including the woman in question, arrested and detained at Garda stations in Dublin before being released several hours later.
Those arrested subsequently claimed they had been subjected to excessive intrusive treatment by the arresting gardaí, including cavity searches, with some of those claims read into the Dáil record under privilege by People Before Profit TDs Richard Boyd Barrett, Ruth Coppinger, and Paul Murphy last month.
In its letter to Mr Harris, Phoenix Law said its client had been held at Kevin Street Garda Station for three hours without questioning, that she had been subjected to a strip search, and that she had not been told why that invasive procedure had to occur.
The firm alleged that its client's human rights had been breached.
Details of the legal claim come after Mr Harris wrote to the Dail's business committee on May 16 accusing the three People Before Profit TDs of making 'unfounded allegations' in the Dáil chamber concerning the alleged treatment of a separate female protester, and Palestinian national.
In his letter, Mr Harris said 'it has been verified by me that they [the arresting officers] treated those in custody with respect at all times'.
He said that the protests and subsequent arrests had been recorded on Garda body-worn cameras which showed 'nothing that would substantiate any allegations of wrongdoing'.
He added, however, that 'there are no recording devices in cells when prisoners are being searched for obvious requirements for dignity and privacy'.
It is in those cells that it is alleged the invasive searches of the protester in question took place.
A spokesperson for Mothers Against Genocide said they note that 'An Garda Síochána has now acknowledged that there is no camera footage of the strip searches conducted on our members during the Mother's Day arrests'.
The group has called on minister for justice Jim O'Callaghan to 'issue a public apology' for previous assertions that the accounts of the protesters regarding their detention had been false.
A spokesman for An Garda Síochána said: "Material gathered by An Garda Síochána in relation to this matter has been provided to the Policing and Community Safety Authority for their review."
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