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PR: Court Drops Charges against YD Members
21.09.1994
At Galway District Court today (21/9/94) the charges against Niamh Nic Mhathuna and John Heaney of Youth Defence were dropped on the instruction of the DPP.
This was a complete vindication of Youth Defence activities and conclusive evidence that the Public Order Act is being used as a crude tool to suppress pro-life activists.
It was no coincidence that Youth Defence was first charged under the Public Order Act, in the constituency of the Minister for Justice - Maire Geoghegan-Quinn. Although allegations of obstruction were unsustainable, a more subtle form of harrassment and intimidation is arrest, detention, charge and the inconvenience of attending trial.
The Public Order Act is an attack oln the constitutional right of citizens to freely express their convictions and opinions (Article 40.6.1 of the Constitution) and an attempt to deprive citizens of the right to assemble peacefully (Article 40.6.2).
It is now clear that the Government has no scruples about using the Public Order Act against any group that opposes Government policy, with total disregard for the reassurance given by the Minister for Justice, that th Act would not be used against a peaceful protest or picket. Public outrage compled with a likelihood of constitutional challenge prevented the government from pursuing their crude attempts to criminalise the pro-life workers of Youth Defence.
The Public Order Act is a flawed piece of legislation which will be shown to be in breach of the Constitution. The constitutional challenge to the Act is an ardous undertaking, gladly taken by those who believe in the democratic right of all citizens to dissent.
A spokesman for YD said "The right to protest was not easily won in this country, let us not allow a bullying despotic government to snatch it from us".
End
