Subject: PFC NEWS UPDATE Sender: Updates on Ireland from Derry's Pat Finucane Centre <PFCNEWS@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU>
Wednesday 8 October 1997
Allegations of Brutality in the South
The Irish Council of Civil Liberties (ICCL) and British Irish Rights Watch have put together a detailed report on the alleged ill- treatment of republicans questioned in relation to the killing of Detective Garda Jerry McCabe last summer. The report, which has been sent to the UN Human Rights Committee, the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman and Degrading Treatment and other human rights bodies, contains allegations by some of those arrested claiming that they were verbally abused/threatened and physically beaten.
A number of republicans have been charged in connection with the killing and a number of others were arrested and later released without charge. One of those who appeared before a special criminal court had to be helped into the dock and had been taken to hospital four times during the 48 hour detention.
"The report does not reach any conclusions other than to say there is clearly a case to be answered about what happened to people detained for questioning in the aftermath of the Adare murder," said a spokesperson for the ICCL. Following the killing of Detective Jerry Mc Cabe the Centre wrote to the Garda and the Justice Minister to express our condolences but also to point to our concern at serious allegations of ill treatment of suspects at the time. We forwarded an editorial from the Derry Journal which also highlighted these concerns.
Bloody Sunday Update
Following press speculation that the British Government may soon respond to the new evidence passed on by the Irish Government the relatives of those killed on Bloody Sunday have again reiterated that an apology is not enough. Tony Doherty, whose father Patrick was killed on the day, said that "nothing but a full independent inquiry will get to the truth of what happened that day. How can an apology be accepted if we don't know what the British Government are apologising for ?"
In response to recent revelations that some of those killed on the day were actually shot from the Walls overlooking the Bogside campaigners last week invited a archaeologist and a geo-physicist to investigate the possibility that spent bullets may still be buried in the grassy knoll beneath the Walls. Should this theory prove correct, as seems likely, it raises the whole question of the criminal silence maintained by the very senior British military and police officers, including two Chief Constables from England, who observed the operation from those Walls.
Meanwhile the Policy Research Institute has again called for the disclosure of the entire film shot by a British Army observation helicopter on the day. Edited segments of the film have been made public but Dessie Baker, spokesperson for the Derry based group, expressed his concern that substantial and vital segments have been edited out of the version made available to the public .
Extradition of Pearse Mc Cauley
A Dublin court has agreed to the extradition to Britain of Pearse Mc Cauley in a move bound to strain relations between republicans and the Irish government. Mc Cauley escaped from Brixton prison in 1991 where he was being held on charges related to alleged IRA activity in England. Lawyers for the 32 year old Strabane man are expected to lodge an appeal against his extradition. Pearse Mc Cauley , who had jumped bail in July 1996, was arrested in Galway.
New Danny McNamee Pamphlet
The Danny McNamee Campaign has produced a new 24-page pamphlet detailing the case of the Crossmaglen man wrongly accused of the IRA's 1982 Hyde Park bombing. The well-produced pamphlet is available through either the Danny McNamee Campaign at BM INNOCENT, London WC1N 3XX or the Danny McNamee Support Group c/o 3 Sillogue Road, Ballymun, Dublin 11 n is priced at stlg 1. The Pat Finucane Centre , which features information on Danny's case on its web page, is also distributing the pamphlet.
Controversy Surrounding Possible Prison Transfer
A row has erupted between ministers in the Northern Ireland Office (NIO)and the Scottish Office over the proposed transfer of a convicted killer from a prison in Scotland to Long Kesh prison in the North of Ireland. The initial transfer call, made by the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) aligned Progressive Unionist Party (PUP) as a "confidence building measure", was agreed to by Secretary of State Mo Mowlam nearly two weeks ago. Since that time, however, ministers in the Scottish Office have put a halt to the transfer process and have ordered an urgent review of the situation to be carried out.
Campbell, a native of Scotland, was recently jailed for life for the October 1995 murder of 16-year-old Mark Scott. In broad daylight he slit Scott's throat outside a Glasgow pub simply because Scott was wearing a Glasgow Celtic jersey. Though both Campbell's father and uncle have had connections to the UVF in Scotland, Jason Campbell did not and his killing of Mark Scott was not claimed as a "UVF operation". According to the Irish News, politicians in Scotland argue that in moving Campbell to the UVF wing of Long Kesh he would "gain the status of a political prisoner and could be entitled to an early release as part of a peace settlement on paramilitary prisoners."
Colin Duffy Released
Since our last news update, the most recent case against Lurgan man Colin Duffy has collapsed. Duffy, who had already spent three-and-a-half years in prison on a murder charge which was later overturned, spent the last four months in custody charged with the killing of two RUC Constables.
Lawyers for Mr. Duffy are taking legal action on his behalf and are seeking compensation for the years he has spent in prison. "In a democracy, the right to liberty is sacrosanct. Mr. Duffy feels frustrated and angry that on two occasions this right has been denied," said Duffy's solicitor, Rosemary Nelson.
The most recent case against Duffy attracted the attention of many human rights groups. Ms. Nelson said she was "still concerned about matters arising out of the police investigation into the case."
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