‘Petrified; I thought I was being drowned’

A former Sinn Féin councillor waterboarded and threatened to kill a man who he believed was trying to defraud him, the Special Criminal Court heard yesterday.

Footage recorded on a mobile phone was shown to the court of Jonathan Dowdall, aged 38, wearing a balaclava and holding a tea-towel to the man’s face before pouring water over his head.

The court heard that Dowdall believed the victim, Alexander Hurley, was pretending to be a barrister and that he was seeking Dowdall’s bank details in order to defraud him.