Protests Planned at 2nd Murray Trial

by

Fifth Estate # 282, April-May, 1977

A weekend of international protest activities has been called to coincide with the opening of the second murder trial of Irish anarchist Marie Murray on April 25 in Dublin, according to the London Black Flag office.

Murray and her husband Noel were convicted last year in a frame-up trial for the slaying of an Irish cop following an unsolved bank robbery in that nation’s capital city.

The Murrays were both sentenced to be hanged, but the Irish Supreme Court stayed the execution order in December after an international amnesty campaign. Noel’s sentence was commuted to life imprisonment and a new trial ordered for Marie.

The protests are scheduled for April 22 through 24 and are to be centered around Irish banks, tourist and airline offices, embassies and consulates and at government buildings in Ireland. Several occupations are expected.

The defense groups in Britain and Ireland are working hard to strengthen their activities in preparation for the trial and have also called for a flood of protest letters to Irish authorities and telegrams of solidarity to be sent to Marie.

The Dublin defense group is still desperately trying to raise funds to meet soaring costs and legal fees as well as trying to persuade other groups to send lawyers to the trial as international legal observers. This tactic has helped at past trials in Spain and France and it is felt that the hanging judges of the Irish Special Criminal Court may not act as highhandedly as they did during the first trial if they know there is international attention being paid to the case.

Again, letters of protest should be sent to: The Minister of Justice, 72-76 St. Stephens Green, Dublin, Eire. Contributions may be sent to: Murray Defence Group, Box 2, Rising Free, 138-142 Drummond St., London NW1, England.

Related: see other FE articles on the Murray cases.

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