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JANUARY
2002
bloody sunday
This year marks the 30th anniversary of the terrible events that have come to be known as Bloody Sunday, when 13 people died and a similar number was injured after British troops opened fire on unarmed demonstrators against internment without trial in Derry on 30th January 1972. Two powerful films to mark the event have been broadcast on television recently, and I took part in a Channel 4 debate about the aftermath of Bloody Sunday following their showing of the film “Sunday”. There is a website associated with that film – www.sundayfilm.net - for those who would like to know more. I also took part in a Canadian documentary on the subject. There cannot be any doubt that the shootings on Bloody Sunday and the failure of the Widgery tribunal to deliver justice for the victims deepened and prolonged the conflict in Northern Ireland. Thanks to the courage and determination of the relatives of some of those who died, the second public inquiry is now in progress. We can only hope that, despite the opposition of the military, the Bloody Sunday Inquiry will deliver long-awaited justice and enable all those who have suffered for so many years to put closure on this tragedy.
frontline conference
From 17th to 19th January I attended the Frontline conference in Dublin on human rights defenders. It was a chastening but also an uplifting experience to hear from so many brave individuals who have stood up to state oppression all over the world. Patrick Finucane’s widow, Geraldine Finucane, and Rosemary Nelson’s sister, Bernadette McQuillan, eloquently reminded us that human rights defenders have suffered here at home as well. During the conference we had a very useful meeting with the UN Special Representative on Human Rights Defenders, Hina Jilani, who agreed to raise her concerns about both cases with British and Irish governments.
thomas green acquitted
I am very glad to report that yet another miscarriage of justice which British Irish Rights Watch has highlighted over the years has been remedied. Thomas Green, a Protestant, was convicted of the murder in 1986 of Catholic John O'Neill and sentenced to life imprisonment. He was held for three days after his arrest in Castlereagh, where he alleged that he was assaulted, abused and confused until he made a false confession. On the second day of his detention he suffered a seizure and had to be rushed to hospital. The Criminal Cases Review Commission referred his case back to the Court of Appeal. His hearing was delayed by the trail for perjury of two RUC officers, who were acquitted. When Thomas Green’s appeal was finally heard new evidence was led by the defence to show that his collapse had been due to hypoglaecemia, a condition which affected his mental state and rendered his confession completely unreliable.
christy walsh’s conviction upheld
Someone who has been not so lucky with his appeal after being referred back by the Criminal Cases Review Commission is Christy Walsh. The Northern Ireland Court of Appeal found this month that the trial judge had wrongly drawn an adverse inference from Christy Walsh’s exercise of his right to remain silent, but nonetheless refused to acquit him. The court declined to believe the evidence of a witness who came forward after Christy Walsh appealed through the newspapers for eyewitnesses, and then used their disbelief in him to discredit Christy Walsh’s own testimony. Today the court heard his application for leave to appeal to the House of Lords. Judgement was reserved. Our thanks to Katie Wiik for observing this hearing.
david mcilwaine
David McIlwaine, an innocent young Protestant, was tragically and brutally murdered at the age of only eighteen on 19th February 2000. He and another young man, Andrew Robb, were killed as part of a loyalist feud after the intended victims eluded the murderers. David died in a terrifying ordeal on a lonely country road. The police investigation into the murders has left much to be desired and there is yet to be an inquest almost two years later. We are assisting his family to find justice.
ANNUAL APPEAL
Our annual Human
Rights Day appeal has raised over £2,500 so far. We are very grateful indeed to all those who have
contributed. If you have been
meaning to send us a donation but have not yet done so, it is not too late!
Every penny we receive will be put to work improving the human rights of
all those affected by the conflict in Northern Ireland.
councillor patsy kelly
We are looking into
the case of Councillor Patsy Kelly, an independent nationalist, who was murdered
in mysterious circumstances in July 1974. Despite persistent allegations of the involvement of soldiers
in his death, no-one has been made amenable.
meeting with the commissioner for detained terrorist suspects
On 10th
January I met Dr Norris, the Independent Commissioner for Detained Terrorist
Suspects, to discuss conditions in detention for those arrested under the
Terrorism Act.
INQUESTS
We have made a
submission to the government concerning its response to
§ the inability of inquests to return verdicts
§ the inability of inquests to compel witnesses who may have been responsible for deaths
§ the extremely limited scope of inquests
§ the lack of legal aid for inquests
§ non-disclosure to the relatives of the deceased at inquests
§ the failure to provide inquests promptly
§ lack of independence in police investigations in such cases
§ lack of prompt or effective investigation into allegations of collusion
§ the failure of the DPP to give reasons for decisions not to prosecute perpetrators.
Apart from
appointing another full-time and an additional part-time coroner, the
government’s only response has been a relatively minor change to the Coroners
Rules in order to make those who may have been responsible for a death
compellable as witnesses. Although
the government did not seek our views, we have made them known.
criminal justice bill
On 30th
January I attended a briefing in the House of Commons when NGOs briefed members
of both houses of Parliament on the Criminal Justice Bill which is intended to
implement the recommendations of the review of the criminal justice system in
Northern Ireland. The briefing was
hosted by Kevin McNamara MP. The
NGOs expressed a number of concerns, particularly about the provisions for a new
system of public prosecutions and about the recruitment of judges.
Jane Winter,
Director,
31st January 2002.
For Peace Justice & Human Rights
