A BROTHER-IN-LAW of Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinnessfailed yesterday in a legal challenge to being stopped and searched more than 50 times. Marvin Canning said the powers used by police are incompatible with his human rights.
Peter Robinson and Martin McGuinness, First Minister and deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland as of 2010. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
But Mr Justice Treacy ruled that the procedures under the Justice and Security ( Northern Ireland ) Act 2007 were lawful. Mr Canning ( 54 ), from the Glendara area of Derry, claimed he was being victimised. In an affidavit he said: ” The only reason I am being stopped is because of who I am and because of the police perception of my political beliefs.” Police accepted that, as of May last year, he had been subjected to stop-and-search powers around 50 times.
A chief inspector said this was because Mr Canning is a dissident republican. He stated in court papers: ” There exists reliable and credible intelligence to support reasonable suspicion that the applicant has been involved in terrorist activity.” Mr Canning, who has no previous convictions, categorically denies those allegations. His judicial review challenge was backed by Bernard Fox and Christine McNulty, who were stopped by police near Camlough, Co Armagh, in March 2011. Uniformed officers searched both of them and the car they were in. However, Mr Justice Treacy rejected claims that the procedure was incompatible with rights to liberty and privacy under the European Convention on Human Rights.
WITH MANY THANKS TO : IRISH NEWS.
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