Stand with Fiona O'Leary against unjust charges
Stand with Fiona O'Leary against unjust charges
We are calling on the Director of Public Prosecutions to withdraw potential criminal charges against Activist Fiona O'Leary and investigate her unjust treatment by An Garda Síochána.
On Tuesday 20th July Fiona O’leary was arrested by the Gardai at Clonakility Garda station, west cork.
She is facing potential charges of Harassment, Incitement to Hatred and Criminal Trespass. The Gardai chose to arrest Fiona under the charge of Harassment in order to secure the power to detain her for up to six hours.
Fiona is a mother to five children. She is a carer, three of her children are Autistic and Fiona is Autistic herself. The gardai were aware of this, yet they treated her inhumanely. In soaring temperatures of 30 degrees she was kept in an interrogation room with no ventilation for five hours. Surely this is in breach of Covid 19 regulations.
She was interrogated beyond what could be considered reasonable, accused of hating religion and asked for proof of Holocaust denial.
She was forced to sit without moving, surrounded by cameras.
Finally they forced her to give her DNA without reason, for which she did not consent.
She was threatened with re-arrest should she not give in to their demands. The sample was taken by a male Gardai even when Fiona requested a female Garda to do so.
Then as she was leaving the Garda station she was warned to not get into any more trouble as they did not want to be arresting her again.
It was a traumatic experience after which she is suffering PTSD and is finding it very hard to cope with. Fiona feels violated and in distress ever since.
Fiona, through her solicitor has made complaints to GSOC, The Policing Authority and to the Garda Commissioner. We believe there are sinister elements and conflict of interest involved in this case. Fiona is and always has been open, transparent and public with all her work through the media and on her own public forums.
This level of interrogation and threat of criminal charges was and is unnecessary and punitive.
The proposed charges arise due to complaints made by members of the SSPX cult who have a base in West Cork.
In August 2020 Fiona broke the story “SSPX Resistance Cult operating out of a farmhouse in West Cork” which she published through her WordPress Blog.
The story was subsequently picked up by Local and National newspapers such as The Southern Star, Sunday World.
Strangely it is only Fiona and no other writer or journalist who is being threatened with criminal charges.
Link to Fionas article:
Southern Star:
Sunday World:
A quote from the Sunday World article dated October 15th 2020 which highlighted an anti-Semitic sermon given by SSPX founder and leader Bishop Richard Williamson in Cork gives a good insight into why Fiona was so concerned and why the story of the presence of the SSPX Resistance needed to be told to protect the community.
Excerpt:
“In a statement to SundayWorld.com, gardai have now confirmed the video is the subject of garda enquiries.
A spokesperson said: “gardaí are aware of the matter and enquiries are ongoing.”
During the half-hour recording, posted on the internet in March, Richardson, a founding member of 'SSPX Resistance', sickeningly claimed:
Jewish people are manipulating stock market crashes in a bid to start World War III;
Jewish people are 'master-servants' of the devil;
People at the top of the Jewish race are in direct contact with Satan and 'he may even appear to them';
Covid-19 "is possibly the creation of the Jews" and "that it was designed with this purpose to bring society to a grinding halt";
And, finally, Jewish people and the Freemasons are "enemies of God" who "hate life, they hate man, they hate God and they are true children of Satan."
Williamson's Cork talk targeting the Jewish community is not the first occasion on which he has engaged in anti-semiticism.”
These are the words spoken at a gathering in Cork by the leader of the SSPX Resistance to his congregation, yet it is Fiona O’Leary and not Williamson who is facing possible criminal charges by the Gardai.
The SSPX Resistance based in West Cork also broke lock-down laws numerous times, they refuse to wear masks or follow any of the public health guidelines to protect the community, once even organising and attending an "exorcism" at the Dail, which was reported on in the Irish Examiner.
https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/arid-40231067.html
Even though it was reported to the Gardai, they took no action.
There has been substantial coverage and concern in the press of Fionas arrest:
The Irish Times:
The Irish Examiner:
https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/arid-40344509.html
Every thing Fiona works toward is for the protection of the people and the public who are targeted by far right hatemongers, Covid deniers and charlatans who prey on the vulnerable. She calls out wrongdoing and speaks openly about it, often and regularly reporting to the relevant authorities with considerable success over the past decade.
I ask you all to support this petition and this campaign to see Fiona free from this unjust and unwarranted attempt to silence her good work.
Thank you