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FEBRUARY 2005
PATRICK FINUCANE
The 12th of February saw the fifteenth anniversary of the murder of Belfast solicitor Patrick Finucane. The government’s shameful reneging on the promise they made at Weston Park to hold a public inquiry if Judge Cory so recommended undermines respect for the rule of law and for good governance. We have absolutely no doubt that the truth will out eventually in this most murky of cases, and when it does so the present government will have to bear its share of the blame for the cover-up. We take this opportunity to salute the courage and dignity of Patrick Finucane’s family and colleagues in their resolute fight for justice not only for him but for the many others blighted by the government policies which brought about his death.
THE INQUIRIES BILL
The Inquiries Bill has now completed its passage through the House of Lords and is on its way to the Commons. The only amendment of any significance made to the Bill was a new clause providing for parliamentary scrutiny of ministerial misconduct in line with recommendations made by the Public Affairs Select Committee on Government by Inquiry. The amendment was passed by only seven votes during the Third Reading of the Bill, and it remains to be seen whether it will survive in the Commons. There is a wealth of information about the Bill on our website, but the bottom line is that the government intends to wrest control of what used to be public inquiries from independent chairs and give government ministers powers to set the terms of reference, to appoint the panel, and to decide whether hearings should be in public, evidence should be published, and reports should be published. This amounts to a serious loss of public accountability. Parliamentary scrutiny of ministerial misconduct is not the answer either, as such mechanisms have been shown in the past to lack the rigour or independence that is required when, as happened in the case of Patrick Finucane, government policies condoned collusion and ended in many deaths.
THE prevention of terrorism BILL
As has occurred all too often in relation to so-called emergency legislation in Northern Ireland, the government has rushed a new Prevention of Terrorism Bill through the Commons rather than give proper effect to the rulings of the House of Lords in December concerning the detention of suspected Al-Queda members without trial. This new Bill will apply to both domestic and international terrorism and gives government ministers powers to make control orders limiting many aspects of suspects’ lives, as well as their families. Please see our website for more information. In a last-minute concession the government agreed that house arrest would have to be authorised by a judge, but house arrest is no better than detention without trial. Once again, accountability is the issue. Government ministers should not be putting suspects at risk of house arrest and other violations of their human rights – the list is long: family life, privacy, freedom of conscience, freedom of expression, freedom of association, and above all the right to a fair trial could all be affected, as well as liberty – on the basis of secret intelligence which neither the suspect nor his or her lawyer is allowed to see. Never has a government in this country imposed such laws on its own citizens in peacetime. This Bill is a charter for abuse. It will inevitably lead to miscarriages of justice and runs a real risk of creating martyrs to the cause.
The government has argued that we face a terrorist threat so terrible that it would have been beyond the comprehension of those who drafted the European Convention on Human Rights. This is nonsense: in the past fifty years the world has faced repeated attempts at genocide, widespread man-made famine, and the constant threat of nuclear and chemical warfare. In reality, the most serious threats to peace and stability have emanated not from terrorism but from government dictatorships. Democratic governments who fall into the trap of posing nameless, terrifying threats to the population, based on intelligence which is too sensitive to disclose, can all too soon find themselves condoning torture and state-sponsored executions. If you do not want to live under such oppressive laws, and if you feel that they increase the risk of home-grown terrorism in reaction, write to your MP today. In a very few days from now, it will be too late.
COUNCIL OF MINISTERS STILL NOT SATISFIED WITH UK’S RESPONSE TO COURT RULINGS
BIRW has sent a very detailed memorandum to the Committee of Ministers’ Deputies in Strasbourg concerning the UK’s response to rulings by the European Court of Human Rights concerning effective investigations into deaths caused by agents of the state or where collusion has been alleged. The six cases involve the deaths of Patrick Shanaghan, the Loughgall victims, Gervaise McKerr, Pearse Jordan, Patrick Finucane, and Dermott McShane. The Council of Ministers (as the Committee is often called) is not convinced that the UK has responded adequately to the Court’s rulings, and is keeping the cases under review.
PRIME MINISTER APOLOGISES TO THE GUILDFORD FOUR AND THE MAGUIRES
In an unprecedented move, the Prime Minister has apologized to the Guildford
Four and the Maguires for the miscarriages of justice which led to their
wrongful imprisonment for IRA bombings. Tony Blair said, 
“I'm very sorry that
they were subject to such an ordeal and such an injustice. That's why I'm
making this apology today. They deserve to be completely and publicly exonerated.”
While such an apology is long overdue, it is nevertheless welcome, and shows
that it is possible for such apologies to be made. However, at a time when the
Inquiries Bill is making it harder to establish the truth and the Prevention of
Terrorism Bill is bringing in sanctions without trial, the apology underlines
how important it is to have transparent, accountable and fair mechanisms if
miscarriages of justice are to be avoided.
searching for the truth about john dignam
This month Lorna Davidson and I met the family of John Dignam, murdered as an informer by the IRA in 1992 along with Gregory Burns and Aidan Starrs after they confessed to murdering Margaret Perry a year earlier. In their book Stakeknife the former army agent who calls himself Martin Ingram and journalist Greg Harkin have alleged that the three men were informers working for state agencies, who failed to protect them when their cover was blown. We are seeking to discover whether these allegations are true, and if so who was responsible.
PART-TIME CORONERS
BIRW continues to be concerned that part-time coroners in Northern Ireland are paid on a different, less favourable basis than full-time coroners. We can see no logical or moral justification for such a practice. It is also a matter of concern that the government has failed to respond to the Luce Review of the inquest system, which is desperately in need of reform.
EVIDENCE BASED ON TORTURE
BIRW is participating in a third party intervention in the House of Lords in the case of A & Ors, which concerns whether the English courts can accept in evidence material that was obtained under torture in a third country. A large group of NGOs are taking part in the intervention, led by Amnesty International. This case clearly raises a vital point of principle which falls squarely within BIRW’s charitable object of the abolition of torture.
public inquiries into nelson, hamill and wright
We understand that the Robert Hamill Inquiry is likely to conduct a formal opening in May this year, and that hearings will commence in the autumn. The Rosemary Nelson Inquiry will probably begin to hold hearings in January 2006. So far there is no news of the timetable for the Billy Wright Inquiry.
birw expands
As of 1st March BIRW is taking over an extra room next door to our current offices. This move, together with the fact that the effects of the flood we suffered just before Christmas have now been dealt with, means that by Easter we hope to be seriously better organised in terms of office space. We will be installing a new telephone system and some new computers, so please bear with us if there is a small amount of disruption while this goes on. All of this costs money, of course, so all donations will be gratefully received, especially from those of you who have not yet contributed to our Human Rights Day Appeal.
Jane Winter,
Director,
28th February 2005
For Peace Justice & Human Rights
