UK Sanctions Northern Irish Militant Group New IRA

UNSPLASH/The Now Time ILLUSTRATION

JAKARTA - The British government has frozen the assets of Irish nationalist militant groups New IRA and Kieran Gallagher on the grounds of their involvement in terrorist activities.

"This action is the use of both domestic counterterrorism regimes led by the Treasury Department to target terrorism related to Northern Ireland," said UK Treasury Economics Secretary Lucy Rigby.

"This action reflects the government's ongoing commitment to protecting the peace consensus of the Northern Irish people," he continued.

New IRA is one of the few active militant groups against the 1998 Northern Ireland peace treaty. The group has been behind several sporadic attacks that have continued, including the assassination of Lyra journalist McKee in 2019.

The government also imposed director disqualification sanctions on Gallagher, prohibiting him from acting as a company director or directly or indirectly taking part in or being involved in the promotion, establishment, or management of the company.