Irish policemen joke about rape after arresting protesters


by Sunny Hundal    
12:30 am - April 7th 2011

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Updates below

An audio recording has emerged of a policeman in Ireland joking about rape with women protesters they had just arrested.

The women were arrested by the Gardaí (as police are referred to in Ireland) over their protest at a Shell Oil compound last Thursday (March 31st, 2011), near a Shell compound at Aughoose in the Republic of Ireland.

The police seized their video camera but inadvertently allowed the camera to continue recording in the squad car, as they travelled 20km to Belmullet Garda station.

The two women travelled in two other Garda cars in the same convoy. They have now released athe video and audio from the time they got arrested.

One of the women is now holding a press conference tomorrow morning (7th April) regarding the comments and treatment of protesters by the police there.

An investigation is also under way.

The captured recording starts with the women being arrested and the camera been taken by Gardaí. The discussion in the Garda car includes the Gardaí talking about threatening to rape one of the women in their custody and laughing.

Hat-tip Indymedia Ireland

Transcript of the relevant section

Unidentified Garda: “ Is she a Yank?

Garda A: “It sounds like it, it sounds like it, the accent anyway

Unidentified Garda: “Sounds like a Yank or Canadian.”

Garda A: “Well whoever, we’ll get Immigration fucking on her.”

Sergeant: “She refused to give her name and address and told she would be arrested.”

Garda A: “…….and deported”

Sergeant: “And raped.”

Garda A: “I wouldn’t go that far yet….. She was living down at that crusty camp, fuck sake, you never know what you might get.”

Sergeant: “Give me your name and address or I’ll rape you.”

Unidentified Garda: “Hold it there, give me your name and address there, I’ll rape you.”

Sergeant: “Or I’ll definitely rape you.”

Unidentified Garda: “Will you be me friend on Facebook?”

Video / Audio recording

The relevant segment starts around 13m 30s in.

Update: At a press conference today, the campaigners released another recording of police making sexual comments about the wife of a protester.

Mr Monaghan: “Do you see the XL on the thing — that’s his mouth.”

Garda: “It’s my c**k and your f***ing wife will know all about it. I hope you’re recording all that now, John.”

Mr Monaghan: “Any more comments about my wife?”

Garda: “I don’t know the woman.

Listen from here.

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About the author
Sunny Hundal is editor of LC. Also: on Twitter, at Pickled Politics and Guardian CIF.
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Reader comments


1. dsquared

You might want to have a word with your picture editor with respect to why this quite serious story has seemingly been illustrated with a picture from an underwear catalogue.

2. Watchman

Seems a pretty clear case of inappropriate use of language and perhaps threatening behaviour.

Presumably the key test will be what action the Garda take on this.

3. Chaise Guevara

Huh. The ad showing on my screen is for a “legal alternative to pepper spray” that claims to stain people’s faces red for a week.

I know you’re not in charge of the ads here, Sunny, but you might wanna talk to Google and see if they can get you on the “non-creepy” list.

4. corneilius

hmmmmmmmm….

Why do people protest?

Usually when they are being adversely affected by the actions of others.

Thus ‘handling protestors’ has meaning.

Control. Suppression of truth. Gain. Power.

For those with the eyes to see,and the heart to feel, it’s alll too easy to see how conditioning enables all of these, and is in fact neccessary when empathic relationships give way to Power relationships as the primary mode of any given Society, and of course to ‘survive’ is to adapt. Which defenceless children must do. As best they can.

Who was it that said what about “Adjusting to a sick Society……..!”?

5. earwicga

Chaise Guevara – Google ads are related to what you have typed into your own google search box.

6. Corneilius

1. There IS an Official Government level policy of intimidating protestors at Corrib, including the use of targetted violence by Gardiai and ‘contractors’, since about a year into the protests. Arrests lead to court cases. Court cases lead to evidence, serious questions and precedents being set …. oh, and publicity. The Publicity was what made the original order. So it’s not a case of a few bad apples… more like a rotten orchard.

2. I know from my own experience in Elite Irish Catholic Boarding Schools that jokes were made about sexual assaults. ….. and also that NOTHING was done to protect the chidlren, and EVERYTHING was done to protect the assailants. I know of Politicains, currently in Power, who have said that what they witnessed and experienced in those Elite Institutions ‘made them the men they are’ or ‘were character forming’. Abuse takes many forms, and the IMF deal is one of those forms….

3. A culture of abuse always tries to mitigated abuses perpetrated. Ireland, for all it’s tourist and Hollywood imagery is very much a culture of abuse and acceptance of abuse. Not that it’s unique in this respect. Some call our culture ‘the democracy of fear’. Every year in the Irish Republic HSE reports 12,000 cases of serious child abuse: there is NO mandatory reporting and so very few are passed on to the Civil Authorities…. we all know families where chidlren have been seriously abused and it’s all hush hush…..

4. Read Kenneth Doyles ‘Mother From Hell’ for a detailed portrayal of how Gardia protected his Mother – who was abusing him and his brother BIG TIME – and how the Gardia, HSE and Barristers intimidated, denied, manipulated Kenneth every step of the way to protect their Institutions.

5. Read ‘DEEP DECEPTION’ about the Pedophile rings operating within Irish Swimming Training all the way to the Olympic Swimmers… and how that too was ‘managed’ when it all came out in the 90s.. afew were taken to court, and all those who at first denied that anything untoward was going on, even still mitigate their actions – it was for the good of the swimming association, club, sport blah blah blah…

5. The laughter of those Gardai was NOT that of a conversation being ‘surreal’ or ‘embarrasing’ – it was because they see their role as state sponsored abusers, as being totally protected, unless they make a ‘mistake’. They follow the rule book, or make it clear that to all appearances they are doing so and they can cover their backsides…. and as long as they don’t spill the beans they’ll be looked after.

6. There’s now more evidence coming forwards of Uniformed Gardai making direct sexualised and abusive comments at Corrib protestors…………

7. Any system of Power NEEDS abusers within it’s employees to retain that Power. It’s naive and foolish to miss that.

8. And those same systems NEED a few good ‘uns to parade from time to time to ensure their cover.

9. The good ‘uns RARELY WHISTLE BLOW. Why do you think that is? or What deters them?

7. Chaise Guevara

@ 5 earwigca

“Chaise Guevara – Google ads are related to what you have typed into your own google search box.”

Fair enough – but I typed “liberal conspiracy”. Don’t think I’ve ever looked up pepper spray in my life.

8. Chaise Guevara

@ 5

Wait, I get it – it’s not just what you typed to get to this site, right? So maybe it’s picked up on pepper spray because I was looking up details of protests and riots etc?

In any case, surely there’s a way for the site owner to get Google to block certain ads. It seems pretty stupid to have “no to AV” ads on a pro-AV site, and I’ve also seen ads for exploitative-sounding consumer loans firms, which personally I wouldn’t want on my site either.

9. cim

Chaise/8: There is, but there’s no way to block particular categories of ads. The choice in practice is between “no ads” and “wildly inappropriate ads”.

10. Chaise Guevara

@ 9 cim

Guess that answers my question! And I’ve heard elsewhere that Google pays more than other ad providers, so I guess switching companies would be a painful alternative.

11. Mr S. Pill

@chaise

http://adblockplus.org/en/

12. Quiet Riot Girl

Someone else made the point about the picture used to illustrate all ‘rape’ and sexual violence stories is always this forlon near naked woman clutching a pillow.

I think it should go.

13. Chaise Guevara

@ 11

Cheers, but it appears that’s for you on-the-ball types who have Firefox.

@ 12

Yeah, agreed.

14. Quiet Riot Girl

I think it is important, the imagery that accompanies articles about sexual violence. This is the topic that set off the row online between me and Steven Baxter and friends, from New Statesman.

It would be nice if Libcon distinguished itself from what seems, increasingly to be a boys’ club over at NS, by listening to its women readers and removing an image of a woman that is really annoying to us.

THANKS!


Reactions: Twitter, blogs
  1. Liberal Conspiracy

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  2. Laura McLaren

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  3. Dawn Foster

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  4. sunny hundal

    Irish policemen recorded joking about rape after arresting two women protesters. Press conference planned tomorrow http://bit.ly/emf2oV

  5. james fairlie

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  6. Claire Butler

    And they wonder why women don't report… RT @libcon Irish policemen joke about rape after arresting women protesters http://bit.ly/emf2oV

  7. Adam C. L.-E.

    disgusting. RT @sunny_hundal Irish policemen recorded joking about rape after arresting two women protesters. http://bit.ly/emf2oV

  8. Greg Eden

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  9. Purls 'n' Politics

    RT @dawnhfoster: RT @libcon: Irish policemen joke about rape after arresting women protesters http://bit.ly/emf2oV

  10. Frank Martin

    Irish policemen joke about rape after arresting protesters | Liberal Conspiracy http://t.co/5yEXWdx via @libcon

  11. Ian 'Cat' Vincent

    Irish policemen joke about rape after arresting protesters
    http://is.gd/F2lkJS sounds less like joke, more like threat

  12. Sirena Bergman

    Hideous and shocking: Irish policemen recorded joking about rape after arresting two women protesters http://bit.ly/emf2oV

  13. Victoria Jamieson

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  14. Natalia

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  15. J.P.E. Harper-Scott

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  16. Keval Bhatt

    RT @dawnhfoster: RT @libcon: Irish policemen joke about rape after arresting women protesters http://bit.ly/emf2oV

  17. Dawn Foster

    Irish police officers caught talking about raping two women arrested At a Shell protest: http://bit.ly/emf2oV

  18. Amster

    RT @dawnhfoster: Irish police officers caught talking about raping two women arrested At a Shell protest: http://bit.ly/emf2oV

  19. Liberal Conspiracy

    Update to post last night: Another recording emerges of Irish policemen joking about rape after arresting protesters http://bit.ly/emf2oV

  20. Sophia

    Can you believe it's 2011? RT @libcon Another recording of Irish policemen joking about rape after arresting protesters http://bit.ly/emf2oV

  21. surveyork

    RT @Brenhinol: http://bit.ly/hASTs8 http://bit.ly/hASTs8 Irish policemen joke about rape after arresting protesters #common_purpose #min …

  22. Phantom

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