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FOUR MEN HAVE been handed prison sentences at Belfast Crown Court today for blackmailing a couple in Northern Ireland.
Gary Fulton (40), Philip Blaney (48) and Marc Briggs (40) were each sentenced to five years imprisonment for their roles in the blackmail of a couple in March 2011. They all pleaded guilty to two counts of blackmail.
Daniel Hamilton (31) was also sentenced to two years and eight months imprisonment after pleading guilty to aiding and abetting blackmail.
Detective Superintendent Philip Marshall, of the PSNI’s Organised Crime Branch, said sentencing was “the culmination of a complex and professional investigation”.
He said that blackmail can be a “difficult crime to combat” but police have systems in place to ensure that those who come forward with complaints are looked after properly. “We will work with them to ensure those responsible are apprehended,” he added.
“Today’s sentencing demonstrates that the police and partners within the Criminal Justice System will bring those responsible for terrorising people to court and that those who are made amenable can expect to receive substantial sentences,” said Marshall.
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And a big Irish welcome to president Abbas
@Tom Ryan:
*Perma-president Abbas
@Tom Ryan: 14 years into his 4 year term.
@Clifford Brennan: better than Hammas, though, no?
@Clifford Brennan: if he was 60 years in his 4 year term I’d still welcome him to Ireland
@Paddington C.: Whataboutery won’t cut it, I’m afraid. You either condemn his continual anti-semitism, this propagation of lies about Jewish intentions about the Al Aqsa mosque (which incite attacks on innocent civilians), his monetizing the murder of Jews, his treatment of his own peoples protestors, his outlawing of dissent, and many other things. You dont get to look the other way because “Hammas”. That’s a cop out, tantamount to approval.
@Tom Ryan: Good for you Tom. I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt and assume you don’t know much about him.
@Clifford Brennan:
I know plenty about your loving isreali prime minister who loves to kill kids and women
@Tom Ryan: More inane whataboutery… welcome to the journal.
@Clifford Brennan: You just went on a full scale rant yourself there pal, or are we not alowed mention the jewish leaders murderous actions?
@Pixie McMullen: I don’t care about what you want to mention Pixie. The article, and my comment, relates to Abbas. If you want to fly some deflection flags too be my guest.
@Clifford Brennan: Journal,why hasnt clifford brennan been banned?
@Seamus Og: You might explain why I should be banned? Do awkward facts upset you Seamus?
@Clifford Brennan: Yeah, and it’s also a cop out to turn a blind eye to the genocidal, land grabbing , hospital bombing, child killing, civilian murdering apartheid state that is Israel.
@Sarah: Hi Sarah, now that you’ve not turned “a blind eye” to Israel ( i think you’ve left a variation of your comment here 2 or 3 times on this article alone), can you outline what your criticisms of Abbas are? Thanks
@Sarah: no one is here is denying that, this is about a dictator visiting Ireland today. You obviously really haven’t a clue about the situation in the Middle East except what you are told on Facebook.
@Tellhimwhynot: What an incredibly condescending remark.
@Seamus Og: Its called free speech which is allowed in this country. You don’t have to like what he says & totally disagree with it but he is entitled to it.
@Clifford Brennan: anti-semitism? Lol, he is a Semite, silly!
@Tom Ryan: So your not big on democracy then
@Clifford Brennan: 14 years into his 4 year term.because Israel and the west know Fatah is gaining ground . Believe me Nobody is in any hurry to call for elections . Welcome President Mahmoud Abbas
@Sarah: point proven
@Tom Ryan: What a stupid and uneducated response, its the PA and Hamas who murders women ad children, even their own, do some research.
@Paddington C.: same circus, different clown
@Sarah: maybe condescending but I’m thinking he’s spot on
It amazes me that when a country is imprisoned into a small geographical area; with no free access to come and go, bombed into the Stone Age, left with no water, food and basic services, aid flotillas stopped, no hope no prospects. People still brand them as terrorists because the media said so. Wake up people!
@Kenny Wolf: zzzzzzz
@Kenny Wolf: Read these comments. We have the pro-Israeli dummy accounts out in force and the rest of us having none of it. No one believes their bullshit.
@Kenny Wolf: You’re talking about Gaza I assume? You do realise the PA in the West Bank, of which Abbas is the leader, have cut funding and electricity to Gaza over their on-going feud with Hamas. That is in large part responsible for the humanitarian crisis in Gaza in recent months (although the Israeli and Egyptian blockade clearly plays a big role too). Hamas is a terrorist organisation because it TARGETS civilians. Its aim is to kill as many civilians as it can. It also terrorizes its own people (e.g handcuffing Fatah members and throwing them off building during their take over of Gaza, not to mention the public executions for dissent etc). If there were no terrorism, there would be no blockade.
@Damon16: well done for spectacularly missing his point.
@Sarah:
It’s possible to be critical of Israel whilst at the same time pointing out that Abbas is now an unelected dictator with a highly shady side.
@Sarah: dummy accounts?
I’m not pro Israel. Not pro Palestinian.
But I am amused by the a la carte selective outrage of our leftist protestors who by any metric should be protesting this visit.
@Sarah: I do not care about Israel or Palestine as they themselves should sort out their problems.
What concerns me though is that he is walking away with 1 million of our money when that could be used to build 10-20 apartments for example.
I do not work and pay tax to see it being sent away while our infrastructure is crumbling right in front of my eyes.
Is their a protest i can attend???
@Jason Byrne: there **
@Jason Byrne: start your own protest maybe.
@Jason Byrne: yes. Aras at 230.
@Jason Byrne: organise one and stop demanding things be done for you. I’m sure there’ll be a group of gowls out with “steady now” signs somewhere.
@Paddington C.: Hoping sinn fein will be out in their droves !!!
…….Oh Wait
@O Swetenham: Im hoping there will be mass protesting for welcoming this murder and homophobic “Democratic ” Leader
@Jason Byrne: Yes https://www.facebook.com/events/253392451881881/?ti=icl
@Teresa Trainor: With All 12 people attending Great!!
Hoping to See the LGBTQ+ out with me in their Thousands !!
@Jason Byrne: you’re very strange with a massive chip on your shoulder.
@Jason Byrne: You okay hun? :-(
@Jason Byrne: inthe frapperoom. Little fool
@lochinvar56: I literally though he was an Israeli dummy account. Still not convinced. Like the time they decided to hijack the Journal.ie poll in regards to the eurovision boycott.
@Jason Byrne: I will organise a welcome demonstration. You are welcome to join us.
@Seamus Og: Seamus you seem quite angry !
Maybe you should go fly some swastika’s with, your terrorist friends !!!
Im sure that would be a nice Welcome for the as i like to call
“forever president “, Just make sure to tell Sinn Fein who care so much about LGBTQ rights to join you
@Jason Byrne: swastikas? Jaysus man, the more you post, the more of an eejit you show yourself to be.
@Paddington C.: Many people have jobs and responsibilities. Not too much to ask that the semi professional cohort of protesters would organise one for a man that has been less than supportive to the LGBTQ etc agenda?
@Jason Byrne:
No doubt the Israeli embassy will be funding one.
Welcome Mr Abbas.
@Joe O’riordan: I hope Dublin city council can hide their gay pride flags in time.
Wouldn’t want to offend….
@Fiasco99: I smell a Nazi…
@Dinny Harkin: I think that would be somewhat unfair. He is both a nationalist in terms of Palestinian state and exposes socialist veiws (while living in luxury and wealth). However calling him a national socialist (Nazi) would be a bit far. On the other hand his anti-Semitism supports your view…
Lets get out there and protest against the terrorist paymaster general. Shame on Ireland to be hosting him. I am sure he is greatful though to Ireland and the UN for funds that helped him buy a Lear Jet for $108 million for his sons. What a joke. Ireland, the PA and Hamas terrorists need a reality check, no better people than the IDF to give it to them everyday
@JPT: Off ye go, i`ll stand there and laugh at you, I`d much rather welcome a Palestinian leader to Ireland than a muderous, child killing, land grabbing terrorist like Nethanyahu any day , that thing should be up in front of the hague for war crimes, and crimes against humanity
@JPT: This is a bot account
@JPT: Hahahaa…I was waiting so see how long it would take for the Israeli accounts to weigh in. Maybe if Israel would stop committing warcrimes in their apartheid state and treat the Palestinians like human beings they wouldn’t have to rally behind men like this, also…seriously?….Nethanyatu?…talk about the lying, murderous corrupt kettle calling the pot black…
@JPT: to the Russian Israeli trump-US cyber bot unit, I offer you a short lesson in grammar from the land of saints and scholars. Let’s is a compound of Let and us which replaced the U of us with an apostrophe. Grateful is the correct spelling…. actually I don’t care, hope your finger smells.
@Sarah: educate yourself! And I don’t mean on Facebook.
@JPT: There’s only one terrorist in Palestine, which for the time being is called Israel.
@Pixie McMullen: much like South Africa and Cyril Ramaphosa
Either you are in favour of democracy and human rights and the rule of law or you are not. A lot of those commenting here seem to think that its perfectly acceptable to apply lower moral and ethical standards to Mr Abbas because he is the representative of what we have deemed a protected victim group – the Palestinians. He is not a democrat, the PA dominated West Bank is awash in corruption where huge amounts of foreign aid has been appropriated by a government and “peace industry” elite, the PA dominated West Bank is no friend of human rights and especially of free speech and dissent (Amnesty international reports attest to this but are usually ignored). Abbas and his colleagues regularly incite ethnic hatred by putting their weight behind re-hashed medieval anti-antisemitic blood libels that lead to attacks on civilians. They also encourage such attacks by offering monetary reward for attacks on Jews. These are facts. To exculpate Abass from adhering to basic values like human rights and democracy is just the most debased form of bigotry and what’s worse its bigotry masked in virtue. Btw I’m no fan of Nethanyahu or the current Israeli regime, but to criticize one doesn’t mean you have to turn a blind eye to the obvious failings of the other.
@Damon16: Very well said.
@Damon16: you are so biased. So brainwashed. So disturbingly ignorant. Have you travelled to Israel, Gaza and the West Bank?
If you imprison any mass of people, deprive, kill & torture them…then it is quite likely they will try to kill your civilians. If that helps you label them as terrorists so you can sleep better at night, I’m glad for you.
@Claire Deasy: No, I’m afraid the biased one is you. I believe moral and ethical standards should be applied equally to all. You have picked the Palestinian narrative and then removed all context and nuance such that in your view Palestinian = good, Israeli = bad. Reality is not so black and white. By that logic, you will excuse anything bad that the Palestinian side does as good and construe everything that the Israeli side does as bad. Btw i could write a list of the immoral acts done by Israel in the past and present just as i have done above for Abass and his crowd but very few turn a blind eye to this as they do with the Palestinians.
@Damon16:your argument has no context, takes no account of how Palestinians are being treated and forced to ‘live’. Of course all crimes are bad, but this is not a lesson on right and wrong. That’s too simplistic. Ending each comment with one negative narrative about Israel is a manipulative way to get readers to think like you. It’s propaganda. If I saw my parents shot, if my house was mowed down, if I had to live without electricity and water for months of the year, if my children didn’t have the food and healthcare they need… I do not know what I would do or what sort of party I would follow. A perfect democratic peace loving party could achieve nothing in Palestine. Israeli leaders don’t use reason. Anyway, we will never see eye to eye. It’s all so sad, we can probably agree on that!
@Claire Deasy: No propaganda from me. I’m against the occupation, against settlements, I think the surveillance state established by the Israelis in the West Bank is appalling, I deplore the ultra ethno-nationalism of many parts of Israeli right as well as the religious zealotry that often accompanies it. I’m against the nation state law etc. There’s plenty to be critical about w.r.t Israel. That doesn’t diminish the Palestinian responsibility for how they act. Just as Unionist actions in NI doesn’t diminish the responsibility of the IRA and their supporters in murder innocent men, women and children in the course of their activities.
@Damon16: You can not compare with NI. Rocks V’s Missiles. There is no level fighting field where Palestine and Israel are concerned. I still think your initial comment is biased and casts and unfair light on the situation but I agree with everything you have said about Israel. Over and out!
@Damon16: The Nazi embassy on Pembroke Road has the Mossad agents out in force today.
@Dinny Harkin: your a vile horrible person , who seems to like labelling all nazis
Welcome to Ireland president Abbas.
As an agricultural country we could help Palestine in a very real and practical way.
Welcome Mr Abbas
Lets get out there and protest against the terrorist paymaster general. Shame on Ireland to be hosting him. I am sure he is greatful though to Ireland and the UN for funds that helped him buy a Lear Jet for $108 million for his sons. What a joke. Ireland, the PA and Hamas terrorists need a reality check, no better people than the IDF to give it to them everyday
@JPT: yes because the killing of children and bombing of hospitals by Israel and their continuous ethnic cleansing isn’t in anyway a terrorist activity. Welcome President Abbas by those of us with eyes wide open.
@JPT: There’s no one better than the IDF at murdering children , women and unarmed protesters, you must be very proud.
@JPT: Profile pic checks out.
How very decent of our wealthy Government
He should be arrested for war crimes, uses international aid money to reward terrorist murderers who kill civilians, also refuses to hold democratic elections
@Stephen Kearon: he is better than hamas.
But still, pretty shoiltty person
@Stephen Kearon: War Crimes .Mr Kearnon..are having a laugh. Netanyahu should be in the Hague under 10 ft of concrete.
1 Million Euro for the homeless would be far better
@Harry Foley: I’m sure they could do both, Harold.
@Cormac Ó Braonáin: so what’s keeping them giving towards the homeless crisis? Abbas lands on a flying visit and they’re falling over themselves to “help”. Sure it’ll keep a few suicide bombers families in ready cash for a few months!
@Harry Foley: would have bought two social housing apartments at today’s rates. Not great
@Harry Foley: indeed. Much better spent on houses here than guns there.
Fáilte
@johnbunton: BDS
How many rockets will that buy?
@John Mulligan: not enough
@John Mulligan: one and a few rolex watches for the president and his gang.
Shameful that any democracy should give tax payers money to terrorists who use it to Pay4Slay
@Stephen Kearon: like the billions of American tax dollars funding the Zionist regime that is the cause of the Palestinian resistance you c as ll terrorism. Get a grip you fool.
@Stephen Kearon: ‘interesting’ opinion from a FF staffer. Youll find the racists on Freerepublic.com in full agreement with you. They’ve linked to this article.
@Stephen Kearon: Isreal is the biggest terrorist stat in the world. KEARON u langer
abbas net worth: 100 million
€1m while Irish families live in hotels? THE worst government in the history of the state. And there’s been bad ones.The real Irish heroes are to be found protesting for ‘Take back the City’ around the country but unfortunately I’m just like the rest of the stooges.
@Shane Kelly: it’s actually €7 million. They just gave him an extra €1 million because the carpets in his palace need replacing
What’s the barcode of Palestinian products so we can boycott? Or do they have those?
@Ross Fehily: did you read the article ? They can’t afford to feed their own and you think they are exporting stuff “with barcodes” to Ireland for your consumption? Dear God.
The unelected dictator abbas is coming here begging for aid money
you should see the palace he lives in and theres a refugee camp beside it
OUT OF INTEREST were did the money come from
@Kieran Cronin: your tax bill.
14 years into his 4 year term.because Israel and the west know Fatah is gaining ground . Believe me Nobody is in any hurry to call for elections . Welcome President Mahmoud Abbas , Meanwhile in Israel Israeli police say Benjamin Netanyahu should face corruption charges.
@Dáithí O Raghailaigh: yeah all those HR violations that the IDF face from their own. Well except the daily murdering of Palestinian protesters. Or in forcibly detaining small kids at gunpoint for no charge, then beating their mams to a pulp with the butt of their rifles when the mothers try to forbid them to take them away. Blowing up Palestinian water plants in Gaza and dropping chemicals in the soil no nothing will grow and then not allowing one food and water transport in. Lining up snipers on a hill to murder protestors and switching from rubber bullets to live ammunition due to the protestors being so far inside Palestinian territory. But at least we know Israel can police themselves! Indeed, let’s hold up Israel, the biggest terrorist body on the planet, as a beacon of justice.
1 Million Euro for the homeless would be far better
“Irish Govt gives big welcome to Palestinian President Abbas”
Will they explain to him how they treated Irish Republicans who dared oppose British rule in occupied 6Counties
They weren’t interviewed on RTÉ or Invited to meet the President but were prosecuted and brutalised by thugs in Portlaoise prison as Free State Government colluded with mi5 sponsored Loyalist hit squads.
@Joe Byrne: Jaysus, you’re very bitter today. Would you go have a drink and relax.
Goodbye Irish neutrality
Have great day
The weak crumble, are slaughtered and are erased from history
while the strong, for good or for ill, survive.
The strong are respected, and alliances are made with the strong,
and in the end peace is made with the strong”
Quote above by Netanyahu Israel P.M, ( no it was not Adolf )
Netanyahu forgot to mention
it helps to be militarily backed with money and arms
by freedom loving America.
This American support enables Israel to keep the Palestinian people
in the occupied West Bank and Gaza on the brink of collapse
without quite pushing them over the edge.
The idea here is to drive them out of their own land,
keeping them impoverished making it necessary
for them to be depend on UNRWA welfare
What ever happened to charity begins at home????
The Government doing nothing about all our homeless, the hospital crisis to name but two very serious problems in this country.
I could go list at least ten more
And where’s sock puppet today?
Should have gone on housing….
Yet the point still seems to escape you. The israelis came to already occupied lands and did horrendous things to obtain the land they now occupy. The Palestinians need to fight back. Its their land regardless of their religion or opinion on homosexuality and I say that as a gay person. The israelis need to leave.. There’s no two ways bout it.
@Rachel Dobbins: So to be consistent, you must also believe that all non-native Americans should leave what is now the US, Canada, Mexico and all of South America. Likewise for Australia and New Zealand.
@Rachel Dobbins: You and Leo Varadkar are hilarious! Leo said if he gets to meet President-for-life Abbas, who is in year 13 of a 4-year term, intends to raise the issue of Gay Rights in Gaza with him, yes, Leo really is that clueless;
1/ There are no Gays in Gaza or areas controlled by “Palestinians”, they are either dead or fled to Israel, the only country in the region where it is safe to be Gay…
2/ Abbas has no control over Gaza which is ran by terrorist Hamas, who are in year 12 of a 4-year term. Hamas recently tried to assassinate the Fatah PM. The only control Abbas has over Gaza is paying the bills, such as the electricity bill which Abbas refuses to pay and Israel provides 4 hours of free electricity a day to Gaza. Abbas also refuses to pay hospital workers in Gaza, he prefers to pay young Arabs thousands to kill or get killed stabbing Jews in Israel.
If Leo has that conversation with Abbas, I hope they are not standing on a rooftop at the time. The Qur’an commands that you as a Gay person should be thrown off a mountain and Abbas welcomes every drop of blood spilled as he has stated many times.
As for Israelis leaving Israel, which they have occupied continuously for thousands of years, you should seriously read a history book if you believe this propaganda. “Palestine” was invented in 1964 by an Egyptian Terrorist named Yasir Arafat, if you dispute this then name a single “Palestinian” leader before Arafat.
@Damon16:
America, Australia, etc. were colonialised more than 200 years ago, so the link with the mother country has been lost.
Israel instead was colonised relatively recently, so many of them would still have links to their mother country.
Further, most Israelis have dual nationality, so it would be easy for them to return to their country of origin. Of course they would not get the wonderful economic incentives that they got to colonise Palestine!
Lastly, the 600,000/700,000 Russian supposedly Jews who have colonised the West Bank in the last twenty years could easily be returned to Russia. I’m sure Putin would take them back. Of course the Russian Orthodox churches in the West Bank would be empty on Sundays, a small price to pay for justice and freedom for Palestinians.
@Síle Donohoe: Jordan is Arab Palestine and Israel is Jewish Palestine since the 1948 end of the post WW2 mandate controlling lands in that area that had supported Hitler.
Welcome President Abbas
Welcome President A. And good luck on UN trip.
From a terrorist country, ie. a country without nuclear missiles and white people. Though not really related, I love Palestinian dates.
How many rockets will be paid for with that 1 million , surprising that Leo the Gay, half indian Taoiseach didnt get the memo that gays dont exist in Palestine , but are welcome and live freely over the border in a small country called Israel . How do all you left wing bigots feel about that ?
@John Porridge:
welcome and live freely over the border in a small country called Israel
unless you are a Palestinian living in the occupied West bank
We have a lot of Irish struggling in our own country..
@Joe Burns: every country is man-made, did you finish primary school?
Yup…. Keep the head terrorists In luxury while their poverty sheep beneath brainwashed in the Jihadist freedom.struggle!!!
@DAVID EIRE:
The white supremacist terrorists are already living in luxury on land and resources stolen from the native population.
More money to buy weapons to kill people
So he can put it with his other billion in has bank account and to hell with the rest of the palestinians this money is supposed to be for, the government has lost the plot, oh wait, they never had it, bunch of gutless, terror loving fools
The Ireland Israel Alliance should get the Israel P.M, Netanyahu
to visit Ireland so we will give him a welcome that he deserves
and will never forget
Might even get the corruption scandal a Netanyahu balloon to greet him
Hope it wasn’t 1m cash they gave him. Feckall will make it back to the genuine refugees. Israel should never talk with this apologist of terrorists.
Great to see our Government meeting with Palestinian representatives. Every UN member should increase their contribution to outdo the fascist States, and keep the US out of Palestinian affairs.
@Dinny Harkin: Historically it was the US that upheld the two state solution in spite of the interests of Jordan and stamped on Israel in Jan 1949 and March 1957 to pull out of Sinai and Gaza – twice without a treaty so the conflict continued; and from Lebanon in 1978 and 2000 ditto. When th Egyptians offered a peace in 1977 for leaviing Sinai the peace has lasted. Pity the Syrians did not learn from the example and the PLO even less????
This clown has a net worth of $100m ..he said that is a lie, its closer to 10m. What politician honestly earns 10-100m in a developing country? Arafat was estimated to be worth over 1billion!!! Gangsters and anti-jewish terrorists.
No one disagrees that this kind of support is positive. Try asking for money to develop transport, healthcare, poverty tho.
Viva Palestine
@Stephen Kearon: ‘interesting’ opinion from a FF staffer. Youll find the racists and lunatics on Freerepublic.com in full agreement with you. They’ve linked to this article.
The handful of protestors should’ve continued their flag waving through Dublin City. Would’ve done them the world of good.
I see the paid puppets from IrelandforIsrael are out in force, together with the paid collaborators coordinated by the Israeli propaganda machine.
@Síle Donohoe:
They’re called people with different opinions to yours.
As you grow up you’ll encounter them quite a bit and you’ll have to learn how to deal with it.
@mattoid:
“They’re called people with different opinions….”
Yes Similar to Trump voters
We all have to learn how to deal with it.
Did Leo ask President Abbas how many Gays live in Palestine and his views on same sex marriage
@Kenny Wolf: If the Palestine Arabs of the PA provinces of Judea, Samaria and Gaza really were without bread and water they would have died back to a million over twenty years ago! Further it is not an agricutural population these thirty years but urban and any agricultural aid would have to deal with the bedrock nature of the geography and the need to rebuild the classical period terraces. People who have learnt to live off town jobs are not disposed to return to agricultural labour. In June 1967 Israel offered to return to the Green Line for a peace treaty ending the conflict and its claims but the Arab powers involved never even acnowledged the offer. The PLO also snubbed the 1977 Sadat offer of an autonomy – which could have been stretched – and never delivered on Oslo and rejected the Barak Camp David and Olmert offers. Israel may have been brash in parts but the PLO have been crassly incompetent.
have your say