A FORMER Irish Army officer has said he intends to summons Garda Commissioner Fachtna Murphy to appear in court to explain why gardaí do not search aircraft suspected of being operated by the CIA at Shannon airport.
At Shannon District Court yesterday, Dr Ed Horgan (63) of Newtown, Castletroy, Limerick, appeared regarding charges of impeding an airport officer in the course of duties at the Airport Fire Security Police Entrance, and failing to leave a security hut and the vicinity of the Shannon airport security barrier on June 18th last.
Dr Horgan, a member of the Peace and Neutrality Alliance, had asked gardaí to search an aircraft, citing international and Irish law. He said yesterday he would be calling six witnesses in the case. One of these would be the Garda Commissioner.
Insp Tom Kennedy of Shannon Garda station said he would call four or five witnesses. “These cases tend to be slow,” he said.
Judge Joseph Mangan adjourned the case to next Thursday to fix a date for hearing.
Dr Horgan said he went to Shannon airport on June 18th last after receiving information that a CIA-operated aircraft was to land.
“The plane had been at the Guantánamo Bay on June 3rd, just over two weeks previous . . . I demanded that while the plane was on the ground that it be searched by gardaí, but no search took place.” He said he cited the UN Convention Against Torture and the Criminal Justice Act 2000 in his request.
