Kerry county councillor and Sinn Féin election candidate Mr Martin Ferris today alleged gardaí had assaulted him in custody yesterday.
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Mr Martin Ferris
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Speaking on RTÉ’s
Morning Ireland
radio programme, Mr Ferris said: "They arrested me yesterday morning, took me in, held me for 12 hours and during the course of that 12 hours I was both verbally abused and physically assaulted.
"I don’t think that is upholding democracy. I think it’s a violation of my human rights for a start, and also it's an attempt to cast a cloud over Sinn Féin in this forthcoming election in this constituency," he said.
Mr Ferris was arrested yesterday morning as part of a Garda investigation into vigilante activities. He said his arrest was part of a Garda campaign of harassment against his party in North Kerry. "I wish it would stop. I wish we would be allowed to campaign as equals in this campaign," he said.
A Garda spokeswoman confirmed to ireland.coma complaint had been received. "A formal complaint was made and it will be investigated," she said.
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Mr Ferris was released without charge, but the Garda spokeswoman said a file would be sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions for a decision on whether to press charges, once the investigation had been concluded.
Mr Ferris also said this morning that he was not involved in vigilantism and had nothing to do with the false imprisonment of a man in North Kerry last December.
His arrest follows the detention of his election campaign manager earlier this month amid allegations that Sinn Féin has been engaged in vigilante activities in the constituency against drug dealers and other criminals. The party denies these allegations.
The controversy over vigilantism has been widely aired and is cited as one of the main reasons that support for Mr Ferris, who at one time seemed the strongest candidate for the three-seat constituency, has been slipping in recent opinion polls.
