Held Down And Kidnapped By Police In Hazmat Suits For Refusing To Check Into COVID Camp

A man who flew to Turkey from Dublin and refused to quarantine upon his return has been remanded in custody at Londonderry Magistrates' Court.

Sam Marie McGinley, 32, of Rosecourt in Derry, was charged with breaching Covid-19 regulations.

Solicitor Paddy McGurk told the court his client flew to Turkey from Dublin and returned to Dublin a week later.

He said he returned on Wednesday but did not quarantine in a Dublin hotel, claiming he could not afford the cost.

The court heard that upon Mr McGinley's return to Derry, he had occasion to call the police on a different issue and admitted he had been to Turkey but refused to go into quarantine.

Mr McGurk said his client suffered from "anxiety and depression" and added it was a "very difficult situation with all sorts of

A police officer told the court that Turkey is a red list country and said the defendant must have known the regulations.

The officer said Mr McGinley had gone to Turkey for "elective cosmetic surgery".

He said police had tried to persuade Mr McGinley to go into isolation but he refused and told police he was testing himself and had no need to quarantine.District Judge Barney McElholm said politicians make the laws and the courts have to enforce them.

He said it would be "perverse" for him to release Mr McGinley on bail to return to his home address as police would have to immediately re-arrest him.

He remanded Mr McGinley in custody until August 16 when his isolation period would be up and said he could mount another application on that date.