Ken Mayers and Tarak Kauff fined €5,000 for airport interference

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

Ken Mayers and Tarak Kauff were fined €5,000 each for interfering with Shannon Airport at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court on 4 May 2022. The jury had acquitted both men of criminal damage and trespass the previous day.

Judge Patricia Ryan described the offence as serious, noting that the airport was closed for 40 minutes. She took account of the men’s ages, cooperation, work histories and lack of previous convictions, as well as their 13 days in prison and nine months required to remain in Ireland.

The men had admitted cutting a hole in the airport perimeter fence and entering the grounds during an anti-war protest. The jury found them guilty by majority verdict of interfering with the operation, safety or management of an airport by entering the runway area and causing the airport to close.