Police in Northern Ireland have contacted representatives of Sinn Fein as part of an investigation into protests that blocked a Protestant parade from passing through a Catholic area, according to a statement from the party itself.
Sinn Fein now leads Northern Ireland's power-sharing government alongside its main pro-British rival, the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP). The DUP has called for Sinn Fein MPs to be prosecuted.
In a statement posted on Facebook on Thursday, Sinn Fein confirmed that "a number of party representatives and members have received letters" from police.
"Sinn Fein will continue to stand with the residents of Garvaghy Road, who need to live in peace and without being threatened by sectarianism," the party said.
The party added that it had "stood with the residents of Garvaghy Road over the past two weeks in the face of provocation and the risk of an unwanted Orange march passing through their community."
Parade given the go-ahead
The High Court in Northern Ireland granted the Protestant Orange Order permission to march along the Catholic Garvaghy Road for the first time in 28 years.
Police opened an investigation into what they described as an illegal protest against the parade, and said that those reasonably suspected of committing an offence would receive letters inviting them for interview.
Sinn Fein First Minister Michelle O'Neill and Sinn Fein President Mary Lou McDonald took part in the protests.
The DUP has called for O'Neill and other MPs to be prosecuted.
"Political office is not a shield, and no one is above the law," the party said on Thursday.
Before the Good Friday Agreement was signed, annual attempts by the Orange Order to march through the area triggered unrest across the British-controlled territory, until the route was banned in 1998.
The standoff has become a political crisis in Northern Ireland, affecting the region's power-sharing government.
