A 56-year-old woman charged with obstructing police during disorder in Portadown on Thursday night has been remanded into custody.
Janice Wilson, of Deramore Drive, Portadown, appeared in the dock at Craigavon Magistrates’ Court on Friday.
Objecting to bail for the defendant, a police officer said police Tactical Support Group (TSG) officers were in Portadown town centre around 7.30pm on the night of an “immigration protest”.
He said there were large numbers of people on the streets and there was “increasing disorder “.
Police were deployed to West Street with the junction with Jervis Street and when the TSG arrived there was already “a large group of over 100 people involved in rioting and disorder”.
The TSG unit put in a “shield line” and the officer said the defendant approached and she was asked to move back and leave the area as the road had been closed “under Article 13 of the Miscellaneous Provisions NI Order 2007”.
She was told if she failed to do so she wold be liable for arrest but “continued to push towards police lines and was struck with an officer’s baton”.
At 9.20pm she was given a final warning and arrested for obstructing police. She was placed in handcuffs and struggled with police. She was cautioned and she refused to give any details.
The officer said the concern was that “given the current situation” if released there could be further offences committed and thre could be “further serious public disorder”.
A defence solicitor said the defendant works 21 hours a week in a bakery and has lived in Portadown since 1999 when she came from Belfast.
He said she had one matter on her record record from 15 years ago which was dealt with by way of a fine.
Regarding Thursday night, the solicitor said it is “common knowledge that there was some form of protest”.
He said there was “clearly disorder”. He said the defendant was present “purely in a peaceful capacity”
“She was in the midst of a substantial crowd that was pushing. She wouldn’t accept it was necessarily from her. She was struck in the hand. She was at thw side of the road. Then there was further movement again when the police came forward and again she was in the midst of the crowd.
“It could be argued that as a rather thin middle-aged person she was the easiest one to grab out of a large crowd.”
He said there was no indication that the defendant was encouraging others or throwing any thing.
Ahead of the court appearance he said the defendant had spent a night in a cell which had been “an uncomfortable experience”.
He said if bail was given she was agreeable to a night time curfew and have a restriction about attending any protests.
The police officer said up to 70 PSNI officers have been injured in trouble in Northern Ireland this week.
Distict Judge Michael Ranaghan said he was “very concerned at what is happening generally”.
He adjourned the bail application until Monday “to see what the risk to public disorder is” at that stage. The defendant was remanded in custody.
