Gay activists say guards took the murder of Charles Self as an opportunity to work up dossiers on at least 1,500 gay men. “What murder has 1,500 suspects?”
“I feel like if it was a stolen car that was worth two grand, they would, they would try and find it,” says Hugh O’Sullivan, whose e-bike was stolen last month.
“We all need to continue to follow public health guidance … But the government must encourage compliance by appealing to our sense of the common good not by threatening us with sticks and sanctions.”
Lots of what is promised has been called for by human rights groups for a long time. So will this minister and this government be able to follow through?
Protecting public health in a time of grave risk is a legitimate aim. But there are also legitimate concerns that current measures go beyond what is needed.
Reform of the Garda-oversight bodies is coming – if the election doesn’t derail it, writes a senior research and policy officer with the Irish Council for Civil Liberties.
But some local councillors say just reopening the station is not enough – the area needs more gardaí to staff it, and to walk the beat in the neighbourhood.
Here are the changes needed to ensure it doesn’t, writes an Irish Council for Civil Liberties representative due to speak about Dara’s case at the Oireachtas Justice Committee today.
This bulwark against mistreatment in custody is absent in Ireland, writes the executive director of the Irish Council for Civil Liberties. “The consequences are grave.”
Gardaí need to do a better job of taking victims’ reports seriously and gathering data on hate crimes, and they should develop comprehensive rules for responding to such crimes.
