Alleged assault on soldier involving electric shocks investigated

Minister for Defence Simon Coveney has said he is "very unhappy" about reports of an alleged assault on a member of the Defence Forces.

A military police investigation is under way into the matter, which involved a male soldier being tied up and having wire wrapped around parts of his body before being subjected to electric shocks.

The Irish Examiner today reported the incident as having happened at the Defence Forces base in The Curragh, filmed on a camera phone with colleagues looking on.

A spokesman for the Defence Forces said: “The Defence Forces confirms that the Military Police are investigating an alleged assault following a complaint made by a serving member.”

It is understood the incident happened last year but was only recently reported.

Asked about the incident yesterday, Mr Coveney said: “I’m very unhappy about it”, adding a full investigation was under way.

“It’s a military police investigation and there will be a full and very thorough investigation of exactly what happened, why, when and how, and I suspect there will be pretty severe consequences as a result of that report,” he said. “ I don’t want to anticipate the outcome at this stage.”

In military police investigations, statements are taken from individuals involved in the incident and any witnesses to it. A report is then completed and sent to the General Officer Commanding of the formation concerned.

Depending on findings of the report, the General Officer Commanding can draw up charges against individuals, or the matter can be referred to a court martial in more serious cases.