Russian embassy attacks ‘rabid propaganda’ after jury acquits man who reversed into its gates

State is accused of ‘influencing’ verdict in case of Desmond Wisley

The Russian embassy has accused the Irish State and media of promoting “rabid anti-Russian propaganda”, which it claims influenced a jury that acquitted a man of dangerous driving when he reversed a truck into the embassy gates two years ago.

The embassy made the claim in a statement issued after businessman Desmond Wisley was cleared of the charge last week following a five-day trial before the Circuit Criminal Court in Dublin.

The jury was unable to reach a verdict on a second charge of criminal damage arising from the same incident when Mr Wisley smashed through the gates of the embassy as a protest against the war in Ukraine.

Mr Wisley, from Ballinamore, Co Leitrim, had pleaded not guilty to causing criminal damage and dangerous driving on Orwell Road, Rathgar, on March 7, 2022, nearly two weeks after Russia’s invasion of its neighbour.

Judge Elva Duffy adjourned the case in relation to the criminal damage charge until next Thursday and remanded the defendant on continuing bail until then.

Mr Wisley, who represented himself, told the court that when he reversed his truck into the embassy gates, he “wanted to stand against Russia and draw attention to the plight of those poor people who were being murdered”.

Jurors were shown footage of the incident, along with a video of a family killed in Ukraine following the invasion.

During his direct evidence, Mr Wisley said he felt “compelled to do something” after watching this clip the day before the incident happened.

He said he “hatched a plan” to knock down the gates of the embassy to put pressure on Russia and stop the war in Ukraine.

Following the verdict on Friday last week, the Russian embassy said it considered the decision by the jury to have been “politically motivated” and accused the State of failing to “provide sufficient security to the embassy and its diplomatic property in the first place” and also of “not bringing the perpetrator to justice”.

In a statement, the embassy claimed Mr Wisley’s acquittal on the dangerous driving charge had set a “dangerous precedent” that sent a signal that “it is somehow OK to attack a foreign diplomatic mission”.

“The embassy regrets this decision by the jury, considers it politically motivated and taken under the influence of rabid anti-Russian propaganda, promoted by both the State and the media of Ireland,” it said.

“This decision is not based on facts on the matter and allows the perpetrator to be exonerated of his clearly extremist actions.”

The embassy went on to accuse the Government of failing to comply with its obligations under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of 1961, which guarantees the security of diplomatic missions.

The statement also appeared to suggest the Irish State could somehow influence the judicial system “by not bringing the perpetrator to justice”.

It added that the Russian ambassador would remain in contact with the Irish authorities over the matter.

In a statement to the Irish Independent last night, the Department of Justice said: “The administration of justice by the courts is an independent function under the Constitution.”

Since the incident, clips of which went viral on social media at the time, there has been a full-time garda presence at the entrance to the embassy complex, where a group of people have been staging a peaceful protest since the war began.

Extra protective railings were also put in place to prevent a similar incident.

The trial heard it cost the Office of Public Works €13,250 to reconstruct the embassy gates.

Closing the case on behalf of the prosecution, Lisa Dempsey BL noted that people are entitled to peacefully protest, but a “citizen can’t take the law into his own hands and break it without lawful excuse”.

She suggested Mr Wisley’s actions were not justified, and while he made every effort to limit the damage, he could have injured someone behind the embassy gates.

In his closing speech to the jury, Mr Wisley said he reversed into the embassy gates in a bid to stop the war in Ukraine.

“I believe what I did was a reasonable act to try to save others from being killed in the future. I hoped my actions would stop others from losing their loved ones,” he told the court.

Mr Wisley concluded by saying he “took this action as I believed it was a reasonable action to try to protect other lives in the future and to protect humanity”.

Mr Wisley was unavailable for comment last night.

“I believe what I did was a reasonable act to try to save others from being killed in the future”