Elham Asaad Buaras
Three pro-Palestinian activists have been cleared of criminal damage charges linked to an incident involving Israeli-made products at a supermarket in west Belfast.
Martin Rafferty, 58, of Carnmoney Road in Newtownabbey, and Eoin Davey, 57, and Yasmary Perdomo, 50, both of Springfield Road in Belfast, were jointly charged over an alleged incident at the Sainsbury’s store in the Kennedy Centre in July 2024.
The three were accused of placing Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) stickers on Sodastream fizzy water products. All denied causing any damage.
When the case came before Belfast Magistrates’ Court on January 19 for a scheduled trial, the Public Prosecution Service (PPS) offered no evidence. District Judge Anne Marshall dismissed the case, formally acquitting all three defendants.
Outside court, their solicitor, Aiden Carlin, criticised the prosecution, saying there was “literally no evidence of any alleged damage” and describing the outcome as a “spectacular” result.
He said the case had involved 13 separate court hearings and questioned why it had been allowed to continue for so long.
“It is an injustice that our clients were required to attend court multiple times since last June, only for the PPS to offer no evidence at this stage,” he said, adding that similar cases against other BDS activists should now be dropped.
In a statement, the PPS said it has a duty to keep prosecution decisions under review as cases progress and to reassess matters when circumstances change. “Following a change in the evidence available in this case, it was determined that the test for prosecution was no longer met,” the PPS said.
The BDS movement campaigns for economic and cultural boycotts of Israel and Israeli settlements.
Photo: Three pro-Palestinian activists cleared of criminal damage charges over supermarket incident involving Israeli-made products. (Credit: Wikimedia)
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