BDS Belfast Condemns Bogus Charges By PSNI As "Blatant Attempt to Intimidate" Activists

BDS Belfast has strongly criticised the Police Service of “Northern” Ireland (PSNI) after one of its members, Sean, was asked to attend a voluntary police interview over allegations relating to a Palestine solidarity protest more than six months ago.

According to the campaign group, police alleged that Sean had been seen holding a lit flare during a New Year's Eve Palestine march. BDS Belfast insists the accusation is entirely false.

"Sean at no point held a flare," the organisation said in a statement. "This action by the PSNI constitutes a complete waste of police time and public money. It is also another blatant attempt to intimidate our activists."

Speaking in a video released by the organisation, Sean described attending the interview accompanied by his solicitor after being contacted by police.

"They accused me of being part of a Palestine march on New Year's Eve, where they said that there was evidence against me holding a lit flare," he said. "To every question I replied, 'No comment, no comment, no comment,' because what they were saying was false. I was not holding a flare at all."

Sean argued that the investigation forms part of what he believes is a broader effort to discourage Palestine solidarity activism.

"So this is a campaign, it's a part of a wider campaign against us as activists," he said. "The PSNI are trying to intimidate us. It'll not work."

BDS Belfast echoed that view in its statement, saying previous encounters with the authorities had only strengthened the group's resolve.

"These attempts have failed before, on all the occasions we were previously harassed by authorities on spurious grounds," the organisation said. "All it does is heap further embarrassment on the already laughable 'justice' system, and strengthen our determination to continue our activism."

Sean also claimed that similar prosecutions involving activists had not succeeded.

"There's been many occasions where people have been sent to court and the charges have also been thrown out," he said. "This is not the first time this kind of thing's happened to me. It'll not be the last."

Reaffirming the group's intention to continue campaigning, Sean added: "They will not stop us from protesting, which is legitimate in a democratic society."

At the time of publication, the PSNI had not responded to BDS Belfast's allegations or publicly commented on the specific case.

An earlier article on Aontacht Media pointed out that Stormont, “through its establishment party apparatuses and relaxed policing of violent elements maintains a dual enforcement regime of violence between its official armed policing body and loyalist paramilitaries. This is by design to avoid neutralisation of these elements, under the guise of gradual normalisation through a working relationship with these paramilitary figures they serve as a reserve of anti-Republican and Zionist shock troops. This is used to fill in the gaps of political intimidation and repression where the PSNI cannot”.