The Irish Council for Civil Liberties has called for an inquiry into the level of force used by gardaí policing anti-capitalist protests in Dublin on May Day.
Ms Aisling Reidy, director of the council, said the security operation mounted by gardaí over the weekend was "not proportionate", given the threat to public disorder which had been posed by demonstrators.
"There is an obligation on gardaí to give an account as to why force was used, and whether it was reasonable in the circumstances. We are told that there is no particular review or investigation of the use of force. That is worrying because there should be a review." She was speaking yesterday at the release of video footage by the organisers of the May Day protests showing an unarmed demonstrator being struck twice from behind with a baton by a member of the Garda's public order unit.
The footage also showed Garda water cannons being directed at people sitting on walls next the Phoenix Park's Ashtown gate. One cameraman was subsequently thrown from the wall and knocked unconscious.
Dublin Grassroots Network, which organised the protest rally, said several protesters were seriously injured in the confrontation on the Navan Road. These included a woman who suffered a burst eardrum when she was hit in the side of the head by a water-cannon. More than a dozen other people suffered "severe bruising" and lacerations.
A spokeswoman for the group, Ms Liz Curry, said the Garda's "heavy-handed" approach to the protests reflected an international trend towards the "criminalization of political dissent".
She said Ireland was moving towards the example of the US where dissenters were known as "domestic terrorists". Ms Reidy said she believed the freedom to protest was "unfairly restricted" over the weekend.
She claimed a Garda decision to station riot police at a pre-arranged protest meeting point at Parkgate Street was an infringement of proper procedures.
She added that she was also concerned about the use of arrest, search and seizure powers in the run-up to the demonstrations was in violation of Article 5 of the European Convention of Human Rights, which guaranteed the right to individual liberty and security.
A Garda spokesman said normal practice after any major policing event would be to hold a debriefing session, and the policing of the May Day demonstrations would be no exception.
However, he said, if there were any complaints, these should be directed to the Garda Complaints Board.
