A 23-year-old man was injured in a so-called punishment beating in Antrim in which his assailants assaulted him with a claw hammer and a baseball bat studded with nails.
The attack happened at 11.15 p.m. on Saturday at Greenpark Court. Three masked men were involved in the beating, in which the victim suffered puncture wounds to his leg, a broken hand and a dislocated shoulder.
Mr Glyn Roberts of Families Against Intimidation and Terror (FAIT) said words could not properly describe his disgust at the assault. "Although this attack did not involve any firearms, this type of beating can cause much more extensive damage than bullet wounds," he said.
"I would just like people to consider what it would be like to be beaten repeatedly with a baseball bat studded with nails and a claw hammer. People should wake up to the horror of these attacks and be aware that this is not happening in some faraway Third World country. It is happening in our streets," he said.
"FAIT estimates that there is now practically a paramilitary attack occurring every day. People did not vote for paramilitary prisoner release, if those same paramilitaries are still involved in violence." In east Belfast on Friday night a 17-year-old man was beaten by four masked men in Parker Street. The victim was assaulted with cudgels. He was treated in hospital for injuries which are not thought to be serious. Police have appealed for public assistance to help apprehend those responsible for the beatings.
