Court hears pensioner refused to fill out census form over CSO contractor's alleged links to Abu Ghraib
A pensioner in Ennis refused to fill out his 2016 Census form because of his ‘strong feelings’ over the Central Statistics Office (CSO) using a firm which had alleged links to prisoner interrogations at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison for the census.
At Ennis District Court, John Higgins (70) of Clancy Park, Ennis explained that he didn’t fill out his Census form over the CSO contracting CACI UK to help with the Census.
In his letter to the Census read out in court, Mr Higgins stated that he chose not to supply any household details based on the fact that such information when processed will ensure that CACI would profit from it.
In his letter, Mr Higgins said that he didn’t fill out the Census as he was “a conscientious objector to war, war-mongering and any mercenary actions involved in war”.
In the letter read out, Mr Higgins said that CACI "is the subject of violation of human rights abuse charges in relation to actions at Abu Ghraib to prisoners in Iraq".
In his letter to the CSO, read out in court, Mr Higgins stated: “I am greatly disappointed that the Government of my country, supposedly neutral chose to engage with this company".
Mr Higgins said that he has completed Census forms in previous censuses but that CCAI’s involvement in the 2016 Census was the only reason he didn’t complete the form.
However, Judge Patrick Durcan convicted Mr Higgins of not filling out his Census form under the Statistics Acts and fined him €750.
Mr Higgins’s solicitor, Tara Godfrey read the contents of Mr Higgins’s refusal letter to the CSO in court and Judge Patrick Durcan intervened before Ms Godfrey could conclude the letter.
Judge Durcan told Mr Godfrey: “This court is being used as a political forum and I will not allow that.”
He said: “The allegation was that Mr Higgins didn’t return his Census form and your client is now engaged in using and abusing this court in terms of spelling out the political position he has - and I won’t have it. I want no more about Iraq and what is happening out there.”
Judge Durcan said that citizenship confers rights but it also imposes responsibilities and that breaching the obligations to complete a census form “is a serious matter”.
He said: “One of the responsibilities of a citizen is to assist a lawfully elected government in planning for the future. Part of that process recognised here since the 19th century has been the necessity of the Government to carry out and plan for a whole range of issues, education, housing through a Census and it is extremely important that citizens comply.”
The prosecution at Ennis District Court is one of seven cases the CSO is taking against people resident here who have refused to fill out their Census forms. Six cases have been completed in the courts with a seventh case yet to be heard.
