LAST UPDATE | 15 Oct

AN GARDA SÍOCHÁNA has said that “missiles were thrown towards garda lines” during an incident in which pepper spray was used at a recent pro-Palestine protest at Dublin’s Port Tunnel.

The garda statement comes after a human rights watchdog claimed that gardaí violated several of their own policies and human rights obligations during the policing of the incident on 4 October. 

Activists were pepper-sprayed and two were arrested for public order offences at the protest, which TD Paul Murphy described as a “scene of police brutality” at the Daíl yesterday.

The Irish Network of Legal Observers, which is co-convened by the Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL), sent seven advisors to attend the protest and observe Gardaí behaviour.

In their report, published today, they claimed gardaí “without justification” restrained and dispersed protesters using force and pepper spray.

The report outlines how Gardaí justified their behaviour on the basis of maintaining traffic movement through but called their actions “disproportionate”.

Following its publication, An Garda Síochána has pointed to where it believes the report is lacking in information and detail, including that protesters had sought to “force their way through the garda line” , which gardaí say may not constitute a peaceful form of protest.

The ICCL report alleges that actions of members of An Garda Síochána were in violation of multiple garda policies and potentially Ireland’s international human rights obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the European Convention on Human Rights.

Violations

During the summer, gardaí were equipped with a new, stronger kind of incapacitant spray, as well as other enhanced public order policing equipment.

The report authors believe An Garda Síochána’s policy on pepper spray was broken as they claim it was used when there was no violence or threat of violence.

They said they saw gardaí use the spray at a distance of less than one metre and without provide a warning before doing so, which it alleges also went against garda policy.

The report said gardaí also responded to the protest with a disproportionate use of force. It said legal observers documented the use of batons close to the heads of protesters, risking serious injuries.

“Batons continued to be used after the crowd began to retreat, with one garda member following retreating protesters into the crowd with his baton,” the report said.

“Disproportionate use of force was also used when one protester who had raised his hands to surrender was pushed to the ground and as a result, broke his wrist and when another person was put into a choke hold while being arrested.”

The report also said that many public order gardaí appeared without identifying badge numbers, which is a breach of garda policy.

In a statement, An Garda Síochána said that the force “facilitates peaceful protest while protecting the rights of individuals to travel freely and commercial organisations to conduct business.”

The statement also added that on the day in question there was “a co-ordinated and concerted effort to physically breach the garda cordon”.

The garda statement continued:

“This is confirmed in the ICCL report which states that at the gathering at 14.08 “Protesters locked arms and tried to force their way through the garda line” and at the gathering at 15.55 “protestors with linked arms began to push against the garda cordon”. The ICCL reports fails to reference the repeated warnings from individual Gardaí for those present to ‘get back’ and also fails to reference a number of missiles being thrown towards the Garda lines, which precipitated the further deployment of the Garda Public Order Unit, with shields, as part of an ongoing graduated policing response.”

The garda also statement also says the the report, “does not address whether protesters trying to ‘force their way through a Garda line’ or ‘push against the garda cordon’ is a peaceful form of protest.”

“According to the ICCL such action is merely ‘disruptive’,” gardaí said.

The statement added that any person with a concern as to how they have been treated by any member of An Garda Síochána can make a complaint to Fiosrú, The Office of the Police Ombudsman.