Workers' Party demand release of Fintan Lane

national | anti-war / imperialism | press release Monday December 01, 2003 14:18 by Press Office - The Workers' Party wpi at eircom dot net 23 Hill Street, Dublin 1

The Workers' Party has demanded the immediate release of Dr. Fintan Lane.

The President of the Workers’ Party Seán Garland has called for the immediate release of Dr. Fintan Lane who has been sentenced to 60 days in Limerick Prison following his refusal to pay a fine arising out of an anti-war protest at Shannon Airport.

Mr. Garland said that the jailing of Dr. Lane was totally unacceptable and showed that the courts were being increasingly used in an anti-democratic manner against ordinary people.

“Under the present coalition government, and especially since Michael McDowell became Minister for Justice we have seen more and more ordinary people who have not committed criminal acts being jailed. This is in stark contrast to the failure of the state to impose such penalties on people who have defrauded the state of many millions, possibly billions through corruption”, said the Workers’ Party President.

“We have seen bin tax protesters, building workers and anti-war protesters thrown into jail while the wrongdoing of corrupt politicians and their paymasters has gone unpunished in the vast majority of cases”.

“The Workers’ Party calls for the immediate release of Fintan Lane. We also call for an end to the real crime which is the continuing use of Shannon Airport as a military base for the United States in its invasion and occupation of Iraq”, said Mr. Garland.

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