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Governments Enact Legislation

Both the Irish and British parliaments have been recalled for special sittings this week to rush through new draconian legislation in the wake of the Omagh bombing. (See last update) Criticism of the new measures has been growing on both sides of the Irish sea among the legal profession, sections of the media and within political parties.

Under the new measures the right to silence has been removed and a suspects refusal to answer questions may be used to infer guilt in a court of law. In addition a senior RUC or Garda officer may allege that a suspect is a member of an illegal organisation and this could suffice in attaining a conviction as corroborative evidence.

Internment by the back door as has been highlighted by critics. In essence the burden of proof has been shifted from the prosecution to the defence. Interrogations in such cases for example are held without access to a solicitor in the North where legal access can be denied for up to 48 hours.

In the South legal access cannot be denied but interrogations usually take place before a solicitor arrives. This raises several problems under the new legislation where failure to answer so called relevant questions can infer guilt.

Who determines which questions are relevant and what corroboration is there when a senior officer claims that a suspect refused to answer given that no legal counsel will be present?

If a senior member of the RUC or Garda claims that he believes a suspect to be a member of an illegal organisation does the claim emanate from an informer?

Doubts about the new measures has been expressed from unexpected sources in the past days including Michael Mc Dowell former Progressive Democrat TD, Chris Ryder, journalist and former member of the Police Authority, Kevin Mc Namara former Labour Shadow spokesperson on Northern Ireland and senior legal figures in the Criminal Bar Association and the Standing Advisory Commission on Human Rights, a state sponsored body.

A number of newspaper editorials have criticised the proposals. There is also growing disquiet among back bench Labour MPs. A large group of solicitors in the North have signed an open letter opposing the new measures. Their letter can be accessed here.

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The murder of Seamus Ludlow

Recently the centre was contacted by relatives of Seamus Ludlow, a 47 year old forestry worker from near Dundalk who was found murdered in May 1976 just across the border in the Irish Republic.

At the time the family was informed by the Gardai, the police in the Republic, that Seamus had been shot dead by the IRA on suspicion of being an informer. It has recently emerged that he was in fact the victim of a loyalist murder gang, some of whose members were also members of the Ulster Defence Regiment, a locally recruited regiment of the British Army.

It is now known that the Gardai in the South and the RUC in the North were aware of loyalist involvement in the murder but covered up this fact since one of those under suspicion was an 'intelligence asset', working for the security forces as an informer.

The family of Seamus Ludlow are now demanding a full public inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the death. With the permission of the relatives who contacted us we are posting excerpts of their correspondence and other articles related to the case on our home page. See Seamus Ludlow.

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Independent Commission on Policing

There has been considerable support for the public call from the PFC for an extension of the deadline for submissions to the Independent Commission.

The present deadline of September 15 excludes many within the community and voluntary sector and while we understand that submissions will be accepted for some time afterwards we are of the view that the deadline should be officially extended.

To that end we are again appealing for groups and individuals to make their views known this week since the commission is expected to make a decision on this issue following a meeting on Thursday/ Friday. In addition we would again appeal to groups and individuals to make a submission on how to resolve the thorny issue of policing in this society. Even a brief submission outlining personal experiences would be of value.

The commission can be contacted at:
The Interpoint Building,
20-24 York St,
Belfast, BT151AQ,

email polcommb@belfast.org.uk or tel 44-1232 258848 fax 44-1232 258843

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Danny Mc Namee Appeal

The legal appeal of the conviction of Armagh man, Danny Mc Namee, is to begin at the Royal Courts of Justice in London on November 9.

The Danny McNamee Support Group are appealing for observers to attend the hearing, in particular in the period from November 12 through to November 20. A spokesperson for the Support Group said,

" The experience of miscarriages of justice so far has shown that it is very important that the court is aware of public concern about the case. For this reason, we are looking for people to attend and observe the appeal for any length of time that they can".

Danny was convicted in 1987 of the 1982 Hyde Park bombing which killed four soldiers. He was sentenced to 25 years but has consistently protested his innocence and serious questions have been raised by campaigners and the media regarding supposed evidence introduced at the trial. See the info on the PFC website for details. Those wishing to attend the hearing should contact the Support Group at email dannymc@bcap.iol.ie or tel +353-1- 2872294 fax 353-1-8420450

New Bloody Sunday Website

A group of young people working out of the Derry based Powerhouse have produced their own website on Bloody Sunday.

The three teenagers who researched and designed the site spent over three months preparing the project which is based in the Powerhouse, a Youth and Technology centre in the Bogside/Brandywell area of the city. Technical support was proved by the Nerve Centre, another highly innovative local project which provides multimedia training and production skills to young people. The site is an invaluable educational tool. Bookmark the URL at bloody sunday