Intimidation of South Armagh family condemned | Latest Newry News, Newry Sport and Newry Business for Newry City

Intimidation of South Armagh family condemned

SDLP MLA for Newry and Armagh Dominic Bradley and Sinn Féin MP Conor Murphy have condemned the ongoing intimidation of a family in South Armagh.

SDLP MLA Dominic Bradley

“I have no reservation in condemning, in the strongest possible terms, the ongoing intimidation of Michael Bellew and his family in Cullyhanna,” Bradley told Newry Times.

“Michael has already been the subject of a horrific shooting and beating and, since then, he and members of his family have been the victims of an ongoing campaign of intimidation.

“This type of behaviour is totally unacceptable and should by now have become a thing of the past; it can never be justified and those responsible must desist immediately.

Councillor Geraldine Donnelly added, “When Mr Bellew was attacked previously Dominic Bradley and I visited him at his home and saw the extent of the injuries he suffered.

“It is totally unacceptable that this family is still being subject to this level of cruel intimidation. Those involved must stop and allow this family to pursue their lives without any interference whatsoever.

Sinn Féin MP Conor Murphy called on those waging a campaign of “intimidation, threats and assaults” against the Cullyhanna man and his family, to cease immediately.

Sinn Fein’s Conor Murphy condemned the intimidation

Describing Mr Bellew as a respected and upstanding member of the community the Sinn Féin MP said, “This campaign of violence and intimidation being carried out by criminals masquerading as Republicans is disgraceful and must be condemned by all. It must cease immediately.

“People are outraged and most view this threat on a well respected and upstanding member of the community and his family as an attack on the entire community. These criminal gangs need to leave the stage and people allowed to build a future for themselves and their families free from threat.

He also said that Sinn Féin would be meeting with the PSNI to discuss the issue. “The PSNI need to deal with this immediately and we will be meeting with them to impress that on them.

Murphy added, “People need to be able to get on with their lives without the shadow of these gangs hanging over them, who are besmirching the honourable title of republican.”

Short URL: https://newrytimes.com/?p=47595

Posted by on Dec 12 2014. Filed under Community, News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry

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