OtherThe Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) has defended its actions after two women, one of whom is a pensioner, were arrested during a pro-Palestinian protest in Belfast.
Sue Pentel, 72, a long-standing campaigner and member of Jews for Palestine Ireland, and another woman in her 50s were detained by police outside a Barclays Bank branch in Castle Place on Saturday. Both were arrested on suspicion of criminal damage.
Stickers had been placed on an ATM.
Assistant Chief Constable Ryan Henderson said having looked at body-cam footage of the incident, determined that the officer’s actions were “lawful and proportionate”.
“I am limited in what I can say about this incident as due process must be allowed to run its course,” he said in a statement to BBC Radio Ulster’s The Nolan Show.
“However, due to the degree of interest in this case, I want to reassure the public that, having reviewed footage of the incident (including from body worn camera,) I am satisfied that our officers acted with courtesy and professionalism.”
Officer actions ‘proportionate’
ACC Henderson said the officers were reacting to an emergency call from a city centre business.
“Their actions were lawful and proportionate to the situation they discovered,” he added.
Both of the women were released later on Saturday, pending a report to the Public Prosecution Service.
ACC Henderson said the right to both freedom of speech and assembly are “fundamental human rights”.
“However, they must be balanced with the need to uphold the rights of others, protect public health and safety, minimise disruption to normal life and by the need to prevent and detect crime.”
Following the arrests, a number of pro-Palestinian protesters held a further demonstration outside Musgrave Street PSNI station.
Branches of Barclays have been targeted around the UK by pro-Palestinian groups, who want the bank to stop investing in certain companies.
‘No offence committed’
There has been mass condemnation of the arrests, with Ms Pentel’s solicitor Pádraig Ó Muirigh saying she was detained after “peacefully protesting”.
“She has committed no offence and should not be criminalised for exercising her right to peaceful protest against these ongoing atrocities,” he said in a statement.
“Our client will robustly contest any attempt to criminalise her if a decision is made to prosecute.
“We will also be advising her in relation to the lawfulness of her arrest.”
Patrick Corrigan, the Northern Ireland director of Amnesty International UK, told The Nolan Show that the right to protest is “fundamental to our democracy”.
“That includes making the point with your body – standing in the street or even with placing a sticker – those symbolic acts,” he added.
“It’s in the public interest that police protect those rights.”
Mr Corrigan said peaceful protest is protected by law “even when it disruptive or causes a minor nuisance to people but that is not a reason to criminalise people”.
“When you arrest people for a sticker you lose all sense of balance.”
