A former Sinn Féin councillor who has been sentenced to 12 years in prison today after he was found guilty of false imprisonment and attempted murder of a man in 2015.
The former councillor Johnathan Dowdall and his father Patrick Dowdall were give 12 and 8 year sentences at the Special Criminal Court this afternoon after they were found guilty of the offences which seen the victim being interrogated, threatened and waterboarded after he visited the duo’s home to purchase a motorcycle.
It is understood the men threatened and attacked the man after they believed that he was a con-man who was about the dupe them out of thousands of pounds.
According to RTE the two men deliberately attacked the man and submitted him to extreme torture which included him having his face covered with a wash cloth and water poured over him.
Both men also threatened to cut off the man’s fingers and chop him up into pieces and feed him to the dogs in attempt to force to confess about the alleged con.
It is understood the father and son duo thought the innocent man had paid someone else with a cheque that bounced after researching him online.