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The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) is being urged to carry out a review into how it has handled allegations of criminality towards, and the disproportionate targeting of, campaigners against a gold mine in the Sperrin Mountains in West Tyrone.
Among the offences alleged by the campaigners are instances of intimidation, including a phone call in which a prominent local campaigner was warned that loved ones would be left “in body bags”; an alleged 2020 “hit and run incident in which a car hit the protector, sending them over the top of the car”; various other instances of alleged assault and accusations having been levelled at campaigners of involvement with paramilitary activity.
North American Mining company Dalradian Gold has denied any connection, either through the company or its employees, with the alleged incidents.
The report, by the human rights organisation the Committee on the Administration of Justice (CAJ), recommends “reviewing the questions of differential treatment and the proportionality of criminal sanctions for protectors” at the site of the prospective precious metals mine, suggesting that the PSNI may have breached international human rights principles and its own codes of ethics over the dispute’s handling.
The CAJ’s report considers allegations that reports of criminality towards protestors have not been adequately investigated, on top of concerns the PSNI restricted lawful protest and unduly “criminalised” demonstrators – many of whom are residents living nearby the prospective mining site.
Since Dalradian began work at the Sperrins 15 years ago, community tensions over the project have progressively ratcheted up – with a slew of claims and counter-claims having been made by opposition campaigners and the mining company.
The CAJ notes that it has not been able to independently verify the allegations. It has, however, been possible to substantiate, through Data Subject Access Request disclosures, that a number were reported to the PSNI.
The report was published on the same day a long-awaited public inquiry into Dalradian’s mining plans – what, it is thought, would be the first scheme of its kind in the UK – had been due to take place.
The inquiry was recently suspended due to a devolved government department’s bungling of two licence applications over water abstraction and storage for the project. A new date is currently being sought.
Campaigners say Dalradian’s project could open the door to a suite of similar mining projects in Ireland, with more than 25% of all land north and south of the island’s land border now concessioned for mining.
James Orr, director of Friends of the Earth NI, told Byline Times the CAJ’s report “lays down a marker” for policing of future mining disputes in the region “and gives a signal to the police and the oversight bodies that environmental defenders not only have a right to protests, but those rights have to be protected”.
Concerns around alleged violence and intimidation tied up with the Sperrins dispute were aired by the UN’s Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders, Mary Lawlor, in late 2022.
In a post on social media, she said she was “concerned by the risks reported by Human Rights Defenders in the @SaveOurSperrins campaign against a gold mine in Co. Tyrone, Northern Ireland. The HRDs report physical assault, intimidation and death threats”.
The following year, openDemocracy revealed extensive profiling of a retired councillor and local resident spearheading part of the area’s opposition campaign.
Eliza Browning, the CAJ’s Senior Policy Officer, who led the group’s research into policing at the Sperrins, argues that its findings raise concerning questions about the right to protest in Northern Ireland.
“The right to protest is a fundamental aspect of our democracy, and it is crucial that the policing of protest is human rights compliant”, she said.
“There are issues of concern in many parts of the world regarding how environmental protestors are policed, this report shows we are no different.”
A PSNI spokesperson told Byline Times that the force does “not recognise the central allegations of the ‘protectors’ set out in this report.”
A spokesperson for Dalradian cited criminal convictions in respect of conduct towards the firm’s employees and facilities at the west Tyrone site.
“Unfortunately, a small number of individuals do not respect the right of our employees to go about their lawful business”, the company spokesperson said.
“Instead, they have sought to intimidate staff and make unsubstantiated claims about them and the project.
“Among other things, a number of individuals have been convicted of offences of harassment, criminal damage and aggravated trespass in relation to their behaviour towards Dalradian employees and at Dalradian sites.
“People are entitled to hold a range of views on the project and that must be respected. Views, however, must be expressed lawfully and the planning process provides the best independent forum in which to do so.”