Judgment was reserved at the Derry County Court in Magherafelt yesterday in a case in which the chairman of Bellaghy Concerned Residents' Group claimed to have been batoned by a police officer. Mr James Hasson (47), of William Court, Bellaghy, sued the RUC Chief Constable for damages arising from an incident which occurred when nationalists were protesting against a loyalist parade two years ago.
Mr Hasson told the court he was part of a 50-strong nationalist protest in William Street that night when police moved the crowd into nearby Springfield Park. He said he was standing back from the front of the crowd when he heard a shout of "charge" coming from the police lines. Next he was on the ground with a batonwielding officer closing in on him. Mr Hasson was taken to hospital, where he was treated for a fracture of the left hand and detained overnight.