It would be “helpful” for the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) to provide clarity on the decision to not take an allegation against Conor McGregor to a criminal trial, the leader of Sinn Fein has said.
Hundreds of people marched in solidarity with Ms Hand in Dublin on Monday evening, after she won a civil case against the MMA fighter.
Ms Hand, who accused Mr McGregor of raping her in a Dublin hotel in December 2018, won her claim against him for damages in a civil case at the High Court in the Irish capital on Friday.
Nikita Hand (Brian Lawless/PA)
Speaking on Tuesday, Mary Lou McDonald said she wanted to reiterate Sinn Fein’s solidarity with Ms Hand, adding that: “She’s been through a horrible, horrible ordeal.
“I think she deserves – and I think women more broadly deserve – the absolute reassurance that the DPP has really interrogated this matter correctly and has taken the correct course of action.
“I am aware that there is a distinction between a criminal charge and a civil case, and the burden of proof is different in both.
Conor McGregor (Brian Lawless/PA)
“It’s not for me to do the DPP job for them but I think it is reasonable and I’ve heard it in countless conversations women asking ‘how is it that since the civil case was successful, that a criminal charge was not pursued?’
“And I think in the interest of public confidence, it would be very helpful to have an answer, a response from the DPP on that matter.”
A spokeswoman for the DPP said it does not comment on individual cases, but that documents on general considerations for decisions to prosecute are available on its website.