The most unwelcome initiation rite for any new Sinn Féin member in the 26 Counties, going back just a few years, was the inevitable arrest under Section 30 of the Offences Against the State Act, "on suspicion of being a member of a proscribed organisation". The Garda Special Branch availed of this catchall piece of repressive legislation to harass not just Sinn Féin members but anyone who showed an interest in issues deemed 'subversive', including campaigners against extradition and for the release of the Birmingham Six. Free article