A protest over delays facing the court case of a man accused of a double murder in Sligo early this year, has been cancelled.
Sligo Pride had called on the public to attend the Court House in the town on Sunday to highlight community concerns over delays in the prosecution of the accused.
Yousef Palani, of 10 Markievicz Heights in Sligo was arrested following the deaths of Roscommon man Aidan Moffat and Galway man Michael Snee in April.
Last month's court sitting heard that the case has required extra time by Gardaí, due to the nature and complexity of the investigation.
The judge ruled that if no directions are given from the DPP by next week's sitting, the case could be struck out.
**UPDATE**
We had planned to protest this weekend due to the reported lack of progress being made on the case. We wanted to protest this to ensure our community was being thought of in this process and also to help ensure our continued safety. pic.twitter.com/fmprLbChTU— Sligo Pride (@sligopride) September 8, 2022
The LGBTQI+ community had highlighted concerns over a lack of progress and communication in the case, with calls for a public display set for Sunday.
In a statement to Shannonside FM news this morning, Sligo Pride have confirmed that an update from Gardaí and the DPP has addressed and alleviated concerns facing the community over the issue.
The committee of the group has now decided to cancel Sunday's gathering stating that the new information has renewed their feelings of security and safety in relation to the ongoing investigation.
They've thanked the public for their support and assured the local LGBTQI+ community that they will continue to monitor the situation.
The full statement is below:
"We had planned to protest this weekend due to the reported lack of progress being made on the case. We wanted to protest this to ensure our community was being thought of in this process and also to help ensure our continued safety. We publicised our intention to protest and our reasoning to do so.
Following our press release and the publicity created surrounding our decision, we have been contacted by those involved in the case and have been given assurances and progress reports . This new information has renewed our feelings of security and safety in relation to the ongoing investigation .
As a result of these conversations, we feel our intentions and questions have been answered and our fears alleviated somewhat.
Furthermore, we feel that the reasoning behind our decision to protest has now been successful and as a result, we have decided to cancel our in-person protest this Sunday. Should we feel in future, that our fears have returned and or those assurances given are not or have not been met, we reserve the right to further protest our displeasure.
Due to the sensitivity of the case we cannot comment further. But we want to thank all those who reached out in support and solidarity with our call to protest."
