The Five Demands

Oggi ha avuto luogo l’udienza del processo ai Four Derry, dopo il rinvio dello scorso martedì.
Occasione in cui tutti e quattro gli imputati si dichairarono non colpevoli.
Il Garda ha spiegato di aver eseguito monitoraggi sui movimenti di varie persone nella zona di Bridgend, lo scorso 15 marzo. In quell’occasione venne fermato un furgone transit nel cui retro furono ritrovati un dittafono, quattro quaderni, una macchina fotografica digitale, due videocamere, due cavalletti e una scheda di memoria. Analizzando le videocassette, gli investigatori hanno visionato una conferenza stampa durante la quale venivano intervistati 3 uomini, 2 con il passamontagna ed uno in possesso di un’arma da fuoco. Esaminando le 53 fotografie ritrovate, hanno notato la presenza di due degli imputati alle spalle degli intervistati, dei quali uno si presume sia tra gli imputati.
La corte ha inoltre ascoltato i 4 che hanno rifiutato di rispondere sulle ‘questioni documentarie’, e due hanno affermato di essere stati sul posto in aiuto dei documentaristi.
Gli imputati sono: Gary Donnelly , Michael Gallagher, John McDaid  e Mark James, tutti di Derry.

Dissidents show media ‘strength’
The trial is taking place at Dublin’s Special Criminal Court
The trial of four Londonderry men charged with membership of an illegal organisation has begun at the special criminal court in Dublin.
They were arrested in County Donegal in March by gardai investigating alleged Republican dissident activity.
The three judge non-jury court was told officers acted on information that a paramilitary group was about to put on a show of strength for the media.
All four pleaded not guilty at the court on Tuesday.
Gardai said they put in place an operation that monitored the movements of various people in the Bridgend area on 15 March.
Prosecution council said detectives stopped a white transit van, in the back of which they found a dictaphone, four notebooks, a digital camera, two camcorders, two tripods and a camera memory card.
Analysis of two videotapes saw a news conference recording in which media members questioned three masked men with balaclavas and one with a firearm.
The court heard that an examination of 53 recovered photos showed two of the four accused in the background, and an expert suggested another defendant was one of the three masked men.
The court also heard the four refused to answer “material questions” whilst in custody, but two said they were helping Spotlight documentary makers.
The accused are 38-year-old Gary Donnelly from Kildrum Gardens, Michael Gallagher, 28, from Sackville Court, 39-year-old John McDaid from Marlborough Street and Mark James O’Neill from Colmcille Court.
The trail continues.