SACC condemns the jailing of Margaretta D’Arcy

Public statement by SACC

Human rights group Scotland Against Criminalising Communities (SACC) condemns the jailing of Margaretta D’Arcy over her protests at the abuse of Shannon Airport by the US armed forces. She must be released immediately.

We send our best wishes and solidarity to Margaretta D’Arcy and all who have campaigned with her on this issue.

The ongoing attempt by the Irish authorities to criminalise protest against the militarisation of Shannon Airport is a disgrace. The cruel and vindictive treatment of Margaretta D’Arcy, who is 79 years old, shows that the authorities are getting desperate, and also that they will stop at nothing unless they are handed a red card.

SACC urges parliamentarians, human rights groups, trade unions and other civil society groups around the world to express their solidarity with Margaretta D’Arcy and their concerns over her treatment by the Irish justice system. We also encourage individuals and groups to get in touch with Irish consulates and embassies to make their concerns known.

Margaretta D’Arcy is a widely respect writer who has brought credit on Ireland around the world. The treatment she has received is doing great damage to Ireland's international reputation.

Notes

• Shannon is a civilian airport but it has been used regularly by the US armed forces.
• Over 2 million US soldiers have passed through Shannon Airport in the past decade, most on their way to wars in the Iraq and Afghanistan.
• Shannon has been visited by aircraft implicated in the US rendition programme - a programme of kidnapping and torture.
• Margaretta D’Arcy was jailed on 15 January 2014 as a result of her refusal to sign a bond pledging to no longer trespass onto unauthorised areas of Shannon Airport.
• Video - Protest at Shannon Airport 9/2/2014
• Poster and more information: Irish Peace and Neutrality Alliance
• I stand with Margaretta D’Arcy - article on the Peace News log
• Shannon Airport, War and Renditions (pdf document) - booklet by John Lannon of Shannonwatch, published in 2012
• Margaretta D’Arcy is a writer, playwright, and peace-activist. Her plays include The Pinprick of History and Prison-voice of Countess Markievicz. She has also written a number of plays in collaboration with her husband, John Arden, including The Non-Stop Connolly Show and The Ballygombeen Bequest. Her books include Tell them everything: a sojourn in the prison of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II at Ard Macha (Armagh).