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SEPTEMBER 2006
death of angela hickey, 21.6.1951 – 13.9.2006
It is with deep regret that the death is announced of the Chair of British Irish RIGHTS WATCH, Angela Hickey, who has died after a long and courageous battle against cancer. Angela was a founder member of BIRW in 1990, and a very active Chair and Treasurer, and she was insightful and supportive of all aspects of our work. In particular, Angela cared deeply about the victims of human rights abuses in Northern Ireland, regardless of their religion, politics, or community affiliations. She was also deeply committed to the peace process, and believed that respect for human rights, while it could not solve all Northern Ireland’s problems, had an important role to play in creating the space required for dialogue and mutual understanding that is essential for achieving stability and an end to violence anywhere where there is conflict. For a fuller obituary, please see the homepage of our website, which also contains details of how to make a donation in her memory for those who would like to mark her passing.
journalists win compensation
In May 2003 the homes o journalists Liam Clarke and Kathryn Johnston were raided by the police in a shameless fishing expedition after they published transcripts of telephone discussions between the then Secretary of State , Mo Mowlam, and figures such as Sinn Féin’s Martin McGuinness, which were embarrassing to the government. BIRW sent a report about the raid to the United Nation’s Special Rapporteur on freedom of expression. The two journalists were never charged with any offence, and their complaint to the Police Ombudsman was upheld. An action for damages against the PSNI was settled out of court for what was reported as “an unprecedented sum”, and quite right too.
rosemary nelson inquiry grants participation to mi5
On 20th September the Rosemary Nelson Inquiry announced out of the blue that it had granted full participant status to MI5, the intelligence service. BIRW have written to the Inquiry querying this decision. No-one has ever alleged that MI5 had anything to do with the lawyer’s brutal murder in 1999, but this move is bound to cause people to revisit that assumption. Furthermore, granting participant status to MI5, given its highly dubious record in Northern Ireland, is bound to dent public confidence in the independence of the Inquiry.
IRISH PRESIDENT PRAISES ROSEMARY NELSON AND PAT FINUCANE
Addressing the opening of a conference of the Law Society of England & Wales on 20th September 2006, Irish president Mary McAleese spoke from the heart about two of Northern Ireland’s most dedicated human rights lawyers, when she said:
“Pat Finucane and Rosemary Nelson, two brave defence solicitors who believed passionately in the rule of law were brutally murdered in circumstances yet to be fully clarified but you can be sure that what stuck in their murderers' craw was not some skewed or conveniently-invented belief that the solicitors were the mouthpieces of the alleged terrorists they defended but rather that they were awesomely, miraculously, stunningly, independent and unafraid.”
inquest into the death of daniel mcgurk
Caroline Parkes attended the inquest of Daniel McGurk on 8th September in Belfast as a public observer. Daniel McGurk was murdered by Real IRA members on 17th August 2003. He was shot at point blank range in front of several of his children. Despite 16 arrests and charges brought against several individuals, no-one has been successfully convicted of his murder. The Senior Coroner, John Leckey, concluded that the motivation for the murder of Daniel McGurk was revenge, because he stood up to RIRA members, causing them to lose face in the eyes of the community. As so often happens in Northern Ireland, the inquest opened more questions than it solved. BIRW will continue to monitor the development of this case.
Torney family meet police ombudsman
On 6th September I travelled to Belfast to meet the Police Ombudsman together with members of the family of John Torney, their legal representatives and political representatives from across the spectrum. John Torney was an RUC officer who was convicted of murdering his wife and two children in September 1994, but since his conviction doubts have grown about his guilt. Sadly, John Torney died in prison without seeing his name cleared, but his family are continuing his fight for justice. After a lengthy discussion with the Police Ombudsman, she agreed to re-consider certain aspects of her investigation, and has now confirmed that she is re-investigating those matters. However, the main focus of the family’s campaign remains the Criminal Cases Review Commission, who have the power to send the case back to the Court of Appeal.
submission on anonymity to the billy wright inquiry SPURNED
BIRW and the Committee on the Administration of Justice have made a joint submission to the Billy Wright Inquiry about applications by certain prison officers and former officers for anonymity, despite the fact that many of their names are already in the public domain. We have also expressed our concern that we were not afforded any opportunity to make representations on this important issue by the Inquiry. The Billy Wright Inquiry has responded by saying that it will not entertain our submission. We are currently challenging their decision.
GOVERNMENT RENEGES ON ITS PROMISE TO ABOLISH THE DIPLOCK COURTS
birw has responded, even though we were not invited to do so, to a government consultation paper on what it calls arrangements for replacing the non-jury Diplock courts. However, what they are in fact proposing it to retain no-jury trials in a small number of exceptional cases. We have argued that a return to trial by jury for all criminal cases would send a powerful message of, if not a return to, then the creation of a climate of, normality. The deeply sectarian nature of the conflict in Northern Ireland has created an atmosphere of mutual distrust which has undermined the fundamental fabric of democracy, to the extent that not only are individuals regarded as incapable of trust, but it is almost as if the people (in the sense of the body politic) cannot be entrusted with their own destiny. Trial by jury is in many ways an imperfect system, but its capacity to enshrine the principle of judgement by one's peers is a beacon of democratic values that can shed some sorely-needed light into the dark shadow cast by the conflict.
craig and lorraine mccausland
I also met the family of Craig and Lorraine McCausland earlier this month. Mother and son were murdered twenty years apart by loyalists, Craig dying only last year. Neither crime has been solved. As a result of our discussions I have written to the Police Ombudsman making a number of points about her investigation into the police investigation into Criag’s death, and to the PSNI’s historical Enquiries Team about their investigation into Lorraine’s murder.
committee of ministers to discuss uk compliance with european court rulings – again
On 17th and 18th October the Committee of Ministers will again discuss the United Kingdom’s failure to implement the rulings of the European Court of Human Rights that there should be effective investigations into in the cases of McKerr, Jordan, Kelly & Ors, Shanaghan, McShane, and Finucane. The UK has argued that it has brought in a raft of measures to ensure effective investigations in the future, but not only are their arguments questionable, the fact remains that the families in these cases are still waiting for justice, and have been doing so for between 10 and 23 years.
we are after your money
This month Caroline Parkes furthered BIRW’s fundraising knowledge by attending two half-day courses on how to improve our fundraising efforts. The first course addressed how to develop sustainable fundraising initiatives. The second looked at how to develop basic, organisational wide, fundraising principles. The courses were an ideal networking opportunity, and to learn how other small NGOs approached fundraising. Watch this space for new events and ways you can get involved with supporting BIRW!! Or alternatively, just press the “donate now” button on our homepage.
Jane Winter,
Director,
29th September 2006.
For Peace Justice & Human Rights
