Obey the law, Flanagan tells the Amnesty chief
Justice Minister’s sharp warning to human rights body over Soros donation
JUSTICE Minister Charlie Flanagan has warned the head of Amnesty in Ireland that ‘the law must be respected by all’.
Mr Flanagan told the Irish Mail on Sunday that ethics watchdog the Standards In Public Office Commission has extensive powers and Colm O’Gorman should comply with them.
Mr O’Gorman is refusing to return a €137,000 foreign donation given to the human rights organisation by billionaire George Soros to support abortion legislation. And Senator Michelle Mulherin, a solicitor, even raised the spectacle of the internationally respected group facing criminal prosecution.
This comes as the MoS can reveal that the law Mr O’Gorman is protesting against has only seen two referrals to the gardaí in the past.
Mr Flanagan said: ‘As a one-time member I am a strong supporter of its work. As Foreign Minister I witnessed constantly how Amnesty plays a vital role.’
But he added: ‘Sipo has extensive powers under the laws enacted by the Oireachtas. Political parties, politicians and all third parties have obligations under these acts.’
Housing Minister John Paul Phelan added to the growing concerns in Government. ‘Amnesty is now a poor role model when it comes to respecting the law,’ he said. Another source close to the heart of Government said: ‘This is unedifying and embarrassing, they are out of control. O’Gorman must go to restore the credibility of the organisation.’ Senator Mulherin said: ‘If they don’t comply, the matter will be referred to the DPP and gardaí. The foreign donation is prohibited under the legislation which is very clear on the issue, notwithstanding what Amnesty has been saying.’
If the issue is referred to gardaí, it would only be the third time for the commission to do it. The two previous referrals were about the same group, Right2Water, in 2014 and again in 2015.
Mr O’Gorman insists that he and Amnesty will challenge both the law and the Sipo ruling. But when asked if he would put his freedom on the line he said: ‘I’m not going to answer that. We don’t want to be involved in more and more speculation in the public domain as we don’t think it’s helpful.’