Amnesty International Ireland Could Face Criminal Charges For Accepting George Soros Donation

Amnesty International Ireland might have to deal with criminal charges after it was informed by the Irish government’s regulatory body, Standards in Public Office Commission (SIPOC), Friday, that it violated the law by accepting funds from an international donor for human rights work.

According to a press release by Amnesty International UK, Amnesty International Ireland stated on Friday, that human rights organizations in Ireland are being "unfairly targeted" by the government using an oppressive law which criminalizes campaigning organizations.

The Dublin branch of Amnesty International received a little over $160,000 from Open Society Foundations (OSF) in 2016, an international foundation which supports and finances civil society groups and the second largest charity in the U.S. It is owned by Hungarian-American businessman George Soros. The funds were donated by the organization to support a campaign in Ireland to ensure abortion laws are in compliance with human rights.

However, Amnesty International was ordered by the SIPOC to return the funds as they were in breach of Ireland’s Electoral Act.

According to a report by RT, the Electoral Act 1997, revised in 2001, prohibits overseas donations of more than 100 Euros ($117) to "third party" organizations for "political purposes." Breaching this law can result in imprisonment of up to three years.

According to the press release, Colm O’Gorman, Executive Director of Amnesty International Ireland said: "Ireland is targeting Amnesty International purely for its human rights work."

"This decision is an indefensible attack on human rights defenders, and shocking evidence of the real threat the Electoral Act poses to wider civil society organizations in Ireland,"

The press release also stated, in 2016, the SIPOC wrote to Amnesty International Ireland acknowledging the work done by the human rights organization to revise abortion laws in Ireland. The SIPOC also stated that the donation given by OSF didn’t violate the Electoral Act and that Amnesty Ireland didn’t have to register themselves as a "third party."

However, one year later, there has been a complete reversal of the above.

With regards to the reversal, O’Gorman said: "Why SIPOC reversed its position on this funding is not clear. What we do know is that some domestic and international groups that oppose our work on the rights of women and girls, and some elements of the media, have been painting our campaign to reform Ireland’s abortion law as 'controversial' or 'too political.' They have also portrayed foreign funding as somehow sinister."

"This is despite major public support for expanding Ireland’s harsh abortion law and repealing the Eighth Amendment. It also overlooks the fact that Amnesty International is completely independent of any political ideology, economic interest or religion," he added.

He stated that Amnesty International won’t "comply" with the directive given by the SIPOC and will "deploy every means at its disposal" to oppose the "unfair law."

According to a report by the Irish Times, the donation to Amnesty Ireland was for its "My Body My Rights" campaign which worked towards repealing the Eighth Amendment of Irish law which criminalizes all cases of abortion except in the case where the continued pregnancy would result in the death of the mother.

In the report, O’Gorman said with regards to opposing the SIPOC directive, "we’re being asked to comply with a law that violates human rights, and we can’t do that."

He even tweeted asking the people to stand with the human rights organization.

The report also stated that, a SIPOC spokesman denied to comment on the Amnesty Ireland issue but stated that SIPOC would work towards enforcing the Electoral Act.