Republicans Must Stand With POW’s Families.

Republicans Must Stand With POW’s Families.

The 32 County Sovereignty Movement are urging ALL republicans to support the families of Republican POW’s and to stand with them in the face of an ongoing campaign of harassment and criminalisation by the Free State Gardai and Special Branch.

On Monday evening, the 15th September Orla and Ronan Connolly, the Brother and Sister of Republican POW Sean Connolly, were travelling in Dublin to a cash machine when they were pulled over by a Garda Squad car, when Ronan questioned the Garda as to why he was being pulled over they became aggressive and stated that they were going to charge him with being drunk and disorderly (not drunk driving). His sister Orla then told the Garda that she was going to phone a solicitor at which point she was struck across the chest with a baton and told she was going nowhere. At this point the Special Branch then arrived.

Orla and Ronan were then arrested for assault and being drunk and disorderly respectively and taken to a nearby police station. Both were then assaulted further with Orla receiving severe bruising to her upper body despite the fact that she has just given birth, a fact that those who assaulted her were well aware of.

Orla was taunted about an assault by the RUC/PSNI on her partner POW Gary Donnelly in which his arm was broken in 3 places and told the same was going to happen to her.

Ronan was released at 5am yesterday morning and despite being the victim of a serious assault, Orla was herself charged with assault and remained in custody until bail of 600 euro was posted.

It is clear to the 32 County Sovereignty Movement that this attack was pre planned in an effort to exert pressure on the Republican POW’s by victimising their families.

The policy of victimisation has taken many forms in recent months from refusing POW’s temporary release and compassionate parole for major family events such as births, deaths, communions and confirmations to the strip searching of newborn children in Portlaoise gaol.

The 32 County Sovereignty Movement are urging all republicans to join together in condemning these barbaric practices and to initiate a campaign to highlight the fact that the Free State administration, like everyone since the creation of the state, are still torturing Republicans and their families in order to defend the two illegal political entities in our nation.