Working Class Youth Arrested For Patsy O’Hara Shirt In Derry

A working class youth has been arrested for wearing a Patsy O’Hara shirt in Derry by the RUC/PSNI, footage circulating on social media shows. 

The Republican Socialist Youth Movement (RSYM) has issued a strong condemnation of the events, calling it a “blatant example of the PSNI’s political policing and targeted harassment of republicans for remembering their dead”.

Patsy O’Hara, from Derry, was one of the ten 1981 Hunger Strikers, and Officer Commanding of the INLA prisoners in the H-Blocks. During the hunger strike, O'Hara and other hunger strikers were given golden crucifixes by Pope John Paul II. He died after 61 days on hunger strike. 

“Honouring his memory is not a crime, it is a basic act of respect for the dead and our community’s history. No local kid should be arrested for wearing a top that commemorates a Derry hero, “ the statement of the socialist republican group read.

“We also witnessed the stark contrast of the PSNI officers present while a UFF flag was erected, with no enforcement action taken. To make matters worse, we have a picture showing a leading loyalist commander from Larne standing side by side with the PSNI, “ it continued.

“This is not impartial policing. It is one sided political policing that aggressively targets republicans for simple commemoration while accommodating loyalist displays. The PSNI is bound by Section 32 of the Police (Northern Ireland) Act 2000 to act impartially and uphold human rights, and by their Code of Ethics to serve with fairness and without discrimination. They are failing on both counts, “ adding that “Under the Terrorism Act 2000, the law must be applied based on evidence and circumstances, yet statistics show a clear pattern of disproportionate action against republican symbols. Despite new powers to remove paramilitary flags, the PSNI chooses when and against whom to enforce them”. 

“The people of Derry have had enough. We demand immediate answers, “ the statement concluded.