International calls for release of Gerry Adams

INTERNATIONAL pressure is growing for the release of Gerry Adams following his politically-motivated arrest by the PSNI.

Greece - Protesters from the SYRIZA political coalition, the second-largest political group in the Greek parliament, demonstrated outside the British Embassy in Athens where party leader and candidate for President of the EU Commission, Alexis Tsipras, called for the immediate and unconditional release of the imprisoned TD.

USA - Republican Congressman Peter King told NBC News that the political implications of Gerry Adams' arrest will cause growing tension in the North. He added that he has known Gerry Adams for 30 years and described him as "always truthful" and "more instrumental than anyone" in bringing peace to Ireland.

Democratic Congressman Richard E. Neal told the Boston Globe that the arrest is “one of those unsettling moments” and said he was suspicious of the timing, which comes just before elections. “It all seems pretty murky,” he said.

There was also a picket outside the British Consulate on Michigan Avenue in Chicago (pictured above).

Basque Country - Basque pro-Independence party Sortu, which makes up the Basque Parliament's opposition EH Bildu coalition, described the arrest as an attack on the Peace Process and "an attempt stop the unstoppable advance of republicanism in the whole island of Ireland."

Catalonia - The Young Republican Left of Catalonia (JERC), the youth wing of Esquerra, the second-largest political grouping in Catalonia, described the arrest as "an attempt to discredit him and his political organization, Sinn Fein, in a moment in which the local and European elections seem to be very favorable."

Italy - Banners calling for the release of Gerry Adams were carried by left-wing demonstrators during the annual May Day march in the city of Milan.

Corsica - Pro-independence organisation Ghjuventù Indipendentista gave its "unconditional support to Sinn Féin and Gerry Adams" describing his arrest as "an attempt to discredit Gerry Adams and his movement".

Britain - The Left Unity party's national officers described the arrest of Gerry Adams as a "politically motivated attack" on the Peace Process:

"We share strong concerns and questions about the motivation behind the timing of recent events. His arrest serves the interests of those who oppose both the peace process and Sinn Féin’s political advance."

Australia - At May Day marches in Australia (see photo below) there were a number of banners calling for the release of the Louth TD