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JULY
2009
BIRW UPDATE
support from the atlantic philanthropies
We are delighted to report that we have received a further grant from The Atlantic Philanthropies of £400,000 over the next three years. Atlantic have been supporting us since 1996 and we are extremely grateful for their long-term support for our work. Sadly, they are spending down their fund so this is probably the last grant we will receive from them.
NORTHERN IRELAND OFFICE LEGACY TEAM VISIT BIRW
BIRW welcomed members of the Northern Ireland Office Legacy Team to discuss the Report of the Consultative Group on the Past and the Government’s response to it. BIRW has previously made submissions on the Group’s work. A robust discussion took place on the Government’s recently launched consultation on the issue and BIRW’s proposal for an Oversight Commissioner to monitor the initial implementation process. BIRW will be making further submissions prior to the end of the consultation in October.
Further Developments in the appeal of William James Fulton
Jim Fulton lost his appeal against sentence and conviction after counsel had argued that the evidence against him was unreliable and unsatisfactory. Jim Fulton had been convicted on the basis of a taped series of admissions obtained covertly. The Belfast Court of Appeal rejected counsel’s argument but granted permission to certify a question to the House of Lords. We now await the decision as to whether the House of Lords – or the Supreme Court as it will then be – will hear this point of law.
obama appoints mike posner to his team
Many congratulations to Michael Posner, President of Human Right First, who has been appointed Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor by President Obama. Mike has been a friend of human rights in many countries, not least in Northern Ireland, in which he has taken a consistent interest, as he demonstrated when he spoke at our conference last February to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the murder of Belfast lawyer Patrick Finucane. Mike has huge expertise and compassion, as well as the ability to see the bigger picture. President Obama could not have made a better choice.
THREAT OF EXTRADITION IS LIFTED FROM larry the chef
Laurence Zaitschek, known as Larry the Chef, has been living in fear of extradition from the USA since 2002. He was wanted in Northern Ireland in connection with a “break-in” at Castlereagh police station in Belfast; documents were stolen, including those relating to the identity of agents, which blew the cover of many agents working for the RUC. Laurence Zaitschek had been working at Castlereagh as a chef until a couple of weeks before this incident. He has always maintained his innocence of any connection with the crime, and in all these years not one shred of evidence has been produced against him and the Director of Public Prosecutions has never actually issued an extradition warrant against him. However, the threat of arrest if he set foot in Northern Ireland, combined with the fact his wife and son were placed in the witness protection programme, kept him from seeing his young son, whose childhood years he has now missed. BIRW’s Director Jane Winter liaised extensively with the Chief Constable, Sir Hugh Orde, to regularise Laurence Zaitschek’s position, to no avail. We are very glad he no longer lives with this cloud hanging over him but the personal cost has been enormous. However, his case remains shrouded in secrecy. The PSNI say that they dropped the case against him because they could not disclose all relevant papers to the defence, but hinted that the papers in question do not come under their jurisdiction.
IAN PAISLEY JUNIOR FINED OVER CONFIDENTIAL SOURCE
Northern Ireland MLA member Ian Paisley Jnr was fined £5,000 for refusing to reveal the name of a confidential source. He avoided a jail term for defying a court order compelling him to disclose the identity of a whistle-blower to the public inquiry into the murder of loyalist paramilitary leader Billy Wright inside the Maze Prison in 1997. Mr Justice Gillen found Mr Paisley to be in contempt of court and said, “It is a recipe for legal anarchy for individuals to pick and choose with impunity those laws they will obey and those they will defy.”
A second arrest in the Masserene Barracks shooting
Brian Shivers, from Maghera, appeared in court in Ballymena charged with the murders of two soldiers and the attempted murder of six other people. He was also charged with firearms offences. Prominent dissident republican Colin Duffy is the only other person to have been charged with the murders.
The Suicide of Colin Bell at HMP Maghaberry
BIRW have commented on several reports relating to the failings by the Northern Ireland Prison Service in relation to the death of Colin Bell at HMP Maghaberry. While we noted that improvements had been made to the Prison Service since the Good Friday Agreement, it had not been the subject of wholesale reform like the police.
NIHRC Draft Strategic Plan
BIRW has responded to the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission’s draft Strategic Plan. We particularly welcomed the commitment of the Commission to monitor the ongoing compliance of legislation with the Human Rights Act. This is an important aspect of the Commission’s work, especially considering the fact that the Act has been the target of attacks by politicians and media alike seeking to undermine its legitimacy.
Consultation on RIPA
BIRW made a submission to the Government’s consultation on proposed changes to the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act, which oversees surveillance. We indicated that the key components of successful and human rights compliant use of RIPA are balance and proportionality. These should be complemented by a rigorous oversight mechanism. The system must operate on the basis of trust between the authorities and the general public.
POLICE OMBUDSMAN DEVELOPS POLICY ON HUMAN RIGHTS COMPLIANCY
We welcome the issuing by the Police Ombudsman of a draft policy aimed at ensuring that its work on cases where police officers may have been involved in deaths complies with Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which provides for effective investigations in such cases. On 30th July our director, Jane Winter, travelled to Belfast to meet the authors of the policy, who were interested in developing some of the suggestions we had made in response to their consultation exercise.
NGOS EXCLUDED FROM CONSULTATION?
BIRW have raised our concerns about the exclusion of BIRW and other civil society groups from a consultation entitled Local partnership working on policing & community safety: a way forward, which looked at District Policing Partnerships. This has resulted in the NIO inviting BIRW and a number of other NGOs to a meeting next month.
Police Ombudsman Justifies First Use of Tasers by PSNI
BIRW was disappointed that the Police Ombudsman has concluded that the first use of a taser by the PSNI was “justified and proportionate”. BIRW has long maintained that the use of tasers by the police is unlawful, because it enforces compliance by the infliction of extreme pain, which, as the United Nations has confirmed, amounts to torture. The man suffered injuries to his head and elbow as a result of the taser and his subsequent fall. Support staff, who may have been able to diffuse the situation, took several hours to arrive at the scene. The man was later acquitted of all charges against him. BIRW urges both PONI and the PSNI to review the policy on tasers in the light of this incident and human rights concerns.
Consultation of the DNA Database
BIRW participated in the Home Office’s consultation regarding a new framework for the retention of DNA following the decision by the European Court of Human Rights in the case of S and Marper. BIRW welcomed the Government’s commitment to comply with this judgment, but noted the need to balance the protection of life with a respect for the right to privacy and the wider principle of the presumption of innocence. This balance can not be struck by disproportionately treating all citizens as suspects.
HET WINS APOLOGY FOR THE FAMILY OF AIDAN McANESPIE
The government has expressed “deep regret” over the shooting by a soldier of 23-year-old Catholic Aidan McAnespie at a border checkpoint in 1988. The soldier who fired the shot claimed it was an accidental discharge, but the Historical Enquiries Team found this to be the least likely of all the possible explanations. Aiden McAnespie’s family said that the HET report was the closest they had come to finding out the truth about what happened. While BIRW welcome this recognition of responsibility by the government, we are sorry that it has taken 21 years to achieve, and that Aidan’s sister Eilish, who campaigned for justice for so many years, did not live to see it.
BIRW at the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee
BIRW attended the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee to hear evidence from the outgoing PSNI Chief Constable, Sir Hugh Orde, Assistant Chief Constable, Drew Harris and Dave Cox, Director of the Historical Enquiries Team. BIRW welcomed the comments made about the positive contribution made by NGOs to the HET’s work.
PAUL McILWAINE AND ANDREW ROBB CONTINUE THEIR FIGHT FOR JUSTICE
We accompanied the parents of David McIlwaine and Andrew Robb to yet another meeting with the Police Ombudsman on 29th July. Their sons were brutally murdered in 2000 by the UVF. Although two persons have been convicted of the murders, there were many flaws in the police investigation, which the Ombudsman is now investigating. Steven Revels, one of the convicted men, has appealed.
The Opening of the Baha Mousa Public Inquiry
BIRW attended the opening stages of the Baha Mousa Public Inquiry, set up to investigate the death in military custody of an Iraqi national in 2003. BIRW are monitoring the progress of this inquiry as part of its remit to advocate for an Article 2 compliant inquiry process for the UK. It is clear from the opening address of counsel to the inquiry, Gerard Elias QC, that there was knowledge of the use of prohibited conditioning techniques, including hooding, at very high levels of the military. The Inquiry will start to hear oral evidence in the autumn.
BIRW APPOINTS NEW TREASURER
We are very pleased to welcome James Kay, who is joining our Board as our Treasurer. We look forward to working with him.
SPONSOR’S AUTOBIOGRAPHY
Our sponsor Michael Mansfield QC, is publishing his biography. “Memoirs of Radical Lawyer”, written with his wife Yvette Vanson, will be published by Bloomsbury Books and can be pre-ordered at http://www.bloomsbury.com/Books/details.aspx?isbn=9780747576549.
31st JULY 2009
For Peace Justice & Human Rights
