The Framing of Michael McKevitt

national | crime and justice | opinion/analysis

Saturday July 08, 2006 17:04

by Political Hostage - Michael McKevitt Justice Campaign

Garda Harrassment and Eventual Stitchup

Running parallel with the vicious media campaign of vilification against the McKevitt family was a campaign of intimidation and harassment conducted by members of the Garda Emergency Response Unit ERU. The overt campaign was directed at the entire McKevitt family including the three youngest children who were aged 8, 6 and 5.

The ERU sat in unmarked cars outside the McKevitt home for long periods of time; they followed the McKevitt’s on a daily basis by car and also on foot. They followed Bernadette while she went shopping in Dundalk and they even followed the children from school. On numerous occasions the ERU stopped the children while they were playing outside their home with their friends and asked them their names. In the evening time after the children were put to bed, the ERU parked opposite the McKevitt house and shone a spotlight into the children’s bedrooms. On Christmas day 1999, at 1.00pm as the family sat down to their Christmas dinner the ERU sat outside the front of the McKevitt home and activated the police siren blaring it for several minutes.

At times they used a loudhailer shouting many things including obscenities outside the home (All of these details are documented; names in some cases, times and numbers of cars are recorded also).

Over the years anyone who called to their home was stopped by the ERU and had their names taken in a very aggressive and intimidating manner. At times even the children of neighbours were stopped and asked their names. On one occasion the window cleaner who had called to collect payment was approached by members of the ERU as he left the house. He was thrown onto the bonnet of his car and searched while his hands were held up his back. He was then questioned before being allowed go free. The man was badly shaken and when he went home he made a complaint to his local politician.

On another occasion one of the McKevitt children who had attended a birthday party was dropped home by a school friend’s mother. The ERU followed the woman who incidentally had other children in the car and forced her car to stop. They were very aggressive with the woman demanding to know what she was doing at the McKevitt’s house. The woman was left shaken and in tears.

Some visitors to the McKevitt home had their homes visited by plain clothes policemen. Neighbours of the McKevitt’s who visited their home to assist them had the ERU sitting afterwards outside their home on many occasions also. There are many more such incidents too numerous to include. The McKevitt’s kept a log of the surveillance which they passed on to Jane Winter director of BIRW.

In addition, meetings of the 32 County Sovereignty Movement, which Bernadette attended, were disrupted frequently. On one occasion a road block was set up outside of the entrance to a hotel were the meeting was scheduled to take place. Everyone entering the hotel was stopped and their details taken regardless if they were attending the meeting or not. Obviously the hotel was reluctant to accept any further bookings from the group.

Official complaints were lodged with the Gardai and with the McKevitt’s solicitor on numerous occasions. One complaint that stands out in particular concerned the videoing of Bernadette and one of the children aged 7, on two separate occasions by detectives. Understandably the family were alarmed and anxious to know the purpose of the videoing and to whom it would be passed on to, as It took place around the time Rosemary Nelson was murdered.

Related Link: http://www.michaelmckevitt.com

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Comments (6 of 6)

The press conference

by Mary Kelly

Sat Jul 08, 2006 20:21

and panel of speakers who launched this booklet was very interesting. Its high time this story came out, it needs to be well publicised, and get the support it deserves.

Ah but is he innocent?

by James

Mon Jul 10, 2006 11:17

I mean in his way he 'harassed' people in places like Omagh didn't he? I have no sympathy.

let us protest by all means

by Shocked

Mon Jul 10, 2006 11:46

I am shocked and appalled. Here is a group of people who make no secret of the fact that, in defiance of the wishes of the majority of Irish people North and South, they would like to initiate a military campaign, causing mayhem and destruction on a scale at least comparable to the early 1970s. And the police have the temerity to sit in cars outside their houses! To follow them! To disrupt their meetings! It is utterly outrageous. If it goes on like this, anyone caught with a gun might end up in jail. I think that anyone who wants should be able to agitate for bombings and killings, and then organise arms dumps and explosions, without this kind of bullshit from the police. Let us all protest at once.

Omagh omagh

by bbgun

Tue Jul 11, 2006 15:21

The Omagh Bomb was the work of "brutish intelligence" and none other.

Bertie has all the details on his desk.

USE YOUR BRAINS

by mary osullivan - none

Wed Nov 29, 2006 20:07

Before you make a comment on the above posting
on the harrassment of the McKevitts please use your brains and ask what is it they are guilty of,

No Mckevitt family member is accused of being responsible for the bombing of Omagh, despite
the millions spent by both the US and Brit Government in an effort to frame them. Perhaps you might ask yourselves where is the recording of the calls to the police dept. which gave the exact location of the bomb and which they claim not to
have understood or what about serial-criminal
Rupert[ tax cheat , transporter of girls across state lines, chequescam conman] when asked about
his credibility replied; '' It doesnt matter,the judges
were selected in advance and there is no jury''

This was probably the only true comment he made during the entire trail, during one day [approx, four hours] testimony he claimed he did not remember
or did not know or did not remember if he did
not know a total of 388 time and if that
is not enough he was handled by a rogue FBI
agent from Chicago named ed buckley ,a known perjurer.
And , my friends,that is the tip on the iceberg

AND IT WAS ON THIS LOSER'S TESTALYING THAT MY GOVERNMENT SENT A GOOD MAN TO GOAL FOR 20YEARS, GOD HELP US ALL AND DELIVER US FROM THIS KIND OF JUSTICE

in reply

by non-voter

Wed Nov 29, 2006 21:49

The government are .shafting a lot of people and using them malignantly.

They are. brutalising people.

They are. dividing communities.

Pawns in political games or just utter unrelenting greed- we should really decide to
shaft them back before they start with the electronic voting and the M3 is beinf built too.
(now).

they do rely on a vote.

still.

vote for everyone but FF/PD/FG/Labour......

fuck up the 49% hung dail and make the bastards work for a living.

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The Framing of Michael McKevitt

Comments (6 of 6)