The president of Republican Sinn Fein, Mr Ruairi O Bradaigh, has said a Garda raid on his home in Co Roscommon was motivated by his opposition to the peace process and continued refusal to accept "British rule in Ireland".
He said the authorities had been irked by a series of television and radio interviews with him on the BBC, UTV and RTE over recent weeks.
Nothing was seized during the two-hour raid. Mr O Bradaigh said that seven Special Branch officers and a uniformed Garda arrived at the house at 7.45 a.m. yesterday with a warrant issued under the Offences Against the State Act.