Man loses challenge to conviction over Israeli Embassy protest

A man who organised a protest outside the Israeli Embassy in Dublin has lost a High Court challenge to his conviction for public order offences.

Steven Bennett (44), of Pearse Green, Sallynoggin, Dublin, was given a five-month suspended sentence by the District Court last year after he was convicted of three charges, including preventing the Israeli ambassador's car entering the embassy by lying on the road for 20 seconds and resisting a garda.

The case centred on his claim he was entitled to protest peacefully.

Mr Bennett was one of the organisers of the protest outside the Pembroke Road building on July 8th, 2014, which was over Israeli air strikes on Gaza City.

After convicting him, the District Judge referred to the High Court for its opinion on whether his conviction for obstructing the car was capable of being imposed with lawful authority or reasonable cause in circumstances where there were no threats of violence towards the vehicle’s occupants.

District Judge Ann Ryan had found, while the rights to freedom of assembly and expression were guaranteed, subject to public order and morality, the obstruction in this case was without lawful authority or reasonable excuse.

In his decision on the High Court appeal, Mr Justice Michael White found the District Judge did not adopt the wrong view of the law and did not draw inferences no reasonable judge could draw.

Mr Justice White also said Mr Bennett had argued he was entitled to a finding his actions were capable of being done with reasonable excuse.

Obstruction

Mr Bennett had placed emphasis on the fact he was engaged in a peaceful protest and his obstruction of the road was for no more than 20 seconds, the judge said.

The court heard he passively resisted being removed from the road by stiffening his limbs and holding on to the leg of his adult daughter Saoirse who was also lying on the road.

Mr Justice White said the right to assemble peaceably, subject to public order and morality, was guaranteed by the Constitution (Article 40.6.1) and the European Convention on Human Rights (Articles 10 and 11), subject to conditions prescribed by law.

In this case, those controls are prescribed by public order legislation, he said.

The District Judge had found the actions were without lawful excuse having considered issues of safety, security and sensitivity to be paramount and that a protest outside the Israeli Embassy was a particularly sensitive situation.

The District Judge also found the protest was well organised and motivated politically to prevent the ambassador getting into the embassy, he said.

She also found Mr Bennett had no consideration of the possible dangers that might have arisen to the ambassador, embassy staff, gardai, or general public and could have caused a heightened security risk because of the particular ambassador involved. There was a possibility of provoking others to commit unlawful acts, it was held.

There may well be occasions where a peaceful protest causes obstruction and a trial judge may decide the defence of reasonable excuse has not been rebutted by the prosecution, Mr Justice White said.

This was not one of them, he held.