A pro-Palestinian protester, against whom charges were dropped, says he was prepared to “battle this in court” in order to highlight the plight of Palestinians.
Eoin Rua Davey was arrested after Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) Belfast held a protest at a Sainsbury’s branch at the Kennedy Centre in west Belfast on July 14.
He later faced Aggravated Trespass charges, which have now been withdrawn.
The BDS campaign encourages the international community to turn its back on Israel because of its treatment of Palestinians.
Members of the group have been involved in a long-term international campaign to encourage members of the public not to buy Israeli goods.
To highlight their cause BDS activists regularly enter stores stocking Israeli goods and remove them from shelves.
Around 40,000 people, including thousands of woman and children, have been killed by Israeli forces in Gaza since last October.
Israel launched the huge operation after around 1,200 people were killed during a Hamas-led attack inside Israeli territory last October, during which around 250 hostages were taken.
Despite international pressure Israeli authorities have refused to call a permanent halt to their ongoing onslaught, which opponents have described as genocide.
Charges against Mr Davey were withdrawn by the Public Prosecution Service at a hearing at Belfast magistrates Court on Tuesday.
Mr Davey said the BDS Belfast branch carries out 40-50 “direct actions a week” and believes the charges he faced were designed to “force us out of the stores”.
Mr Davey said he was prepared to “battle this in court” in order to highlight the plight of Palestinians and said last month’s protest was peaceful.
“We were there to uphold the law, not break it,” he said.
He added that his groups urges “peace not war” along with “accountability and not impunity”.
His solicitor Aiden Carlin, of Carlin Solicitors, said “this is a prosecution case that should never have been brought”.
“We submit that the arrest of Mr Davey was unlawful, unnecessary and disproportionate,” he said.
“Likewise, the decision to charge him was wrong in law and we have received instructions to consider a civil action.”
The PSNI said in a statement: “The right to freedom of speech and freedom (of) assembly are fundamental human rights. They are protected in law and allow individuals to engage in peaceful protest. However, these rights are limited by the need to uphold the rights of others, protect public health and safety, minimise disruption to normal life and by the need to prevent and detect crime.”
The Public Prosecution Service said the initial charges were reviewed on August 7 and found that “the available evidence was insufficient to pass the test for prosecution.”
