26 June 1997 Edition
Shanahan enquiry finds collusion
Family to go to UN
By Martha McClelland
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and the European Court of Human Rights will be asked to intervene in the case of Patrick Shanahan, a Sinn Féin election worker murdered six years ago by the UFF.
The Shanahan family announced their next move at the publication on Tuesday of the findings of a public enquiry organised by the Castlederg/Aghyaran Justice Group last September. The enquiry found overwhelming evidence of collusion between the RUC, loyalists and the British Government in Patrick's murder.
The report's findings are based on witness statements - including from RUC members at the scene - as well as forensic reports. Evidence which the High Court had banned from being heard at the official inquest was also heard.
Judge Somers, the US judge who presided over the enquiry, said in summarising the report, ``not only is there ample evidence of collusion but one would have to come up with very strong evidence to argue that there was NOT collusion in Mr Shanahan's death, a policy of selective assassination by British Forces, loyalist killers and the British government and judiciary.''
The enquiry was chaired by Caitríona Ruane, involved an impressive panel of human rights activists including Paul Mageean, CAJ, Des Wilson, Martin Finucane of the Pat Finucane Centre, Fr Joe McVeigh, Jane Winters of British Irish Rights Watch. The Castlederg/Aghyaran Justice Group, chaired by Tina McGarvey, organised the enquiry which brought an entire community together to make a stand for the truth.
Patrick's sister, Mary Bogues, thanked everyone for their ``great achievement'' in publishing the report and stated the case eloquently: ``None of us should have to be here today. But in view of the way the RUC behaved, my family and indeed the whole community have had to speak out. We had no choice.
``We should not have had to wait five years for Patrick's inquest...We should not have had to listen to eyewitness accounts of Patrick's murder, for the first time first years after his death. We should not have had to listen in horror as a police officer calmly described how he refused to let a doctor attend Patrick as he lay dying...We should not have had to seek the support of an independent forensic expert to highlight the inadequacies of the police investigation into Patrick's death.
``We should have had the support of the law in helping us find out what happened to Patrick. Instead we found the legal system hindering our attempts to establish the truth.''
She cited the High Court order suppressing evidence of death threats against Patrick instead of investigating them, and another order barring the testimony of a forensic expert from the Coroner's Inquest. She reminded us of collusion, with photo montage and personal details falling from the back of a British Army vehicle and ending up in the hands of loyalists, on the RUC's own admission, and of the RUC constable under oath stating that he was instructed by a senior officer to go to the scene of a shooting at 8 am - a full 25 minutes before Patrick was shot. Witness after witness testified about RUC members actually boasting about being involved in his death.
Mrs Bogues called for two recommendations made by the recent Human Rights Watch/Helsinki report (on policing) to be implemented with respect to Patrick's murder:
1. The RUC should investigate Patrick's death in compliance with UN Principles on the effective Prevention and Investigation of Extra-legal, Arbitrary and Summary Executions.
2. The complaints by Patrick's mother to the Independent Commission on Police Complaints be investigated rigorously, and action taken against any RUC members found to have acted against the law or in violation of RUC policy.
Patrick's sister, Mrs Anna Pauling, praised the achievement of the Castlederg/Aghyaran Justice Group, commenting, ``Like so many families who have lost a loved one in violent circumstances, we have quietly accepted this as a tragedy of a society where we can have no hope of finding justice. In a community where we can have little faith in either the law or the political system, we must have the courage to speak the truth. The Castlederg/Aghyaran Justice Group has allowed us as a community to do this...We hope this will give other families who have lost loved ones in similar circumstances the courage to conduct their own inquiries.''
A copy of the report can be obtained from:
Castlederg/Aghyaran Justice Group, 84 Hillview Park, Castlederg, Co. Tyrone, BT1 7PR, for £3 (which includes p+p)
By Martha McClelland
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and the European Court of Human Rights will be asked to intervene in the case of Patrick Shanahan, a Sinn Féin election worker murdered six years ago by the UFF.
The Shanahan family announced their next move at the publication on Tuesday of the findings of a public enquiry organised by the Castlederg/Aghyaran Justice Group last September. The enquiry found overwhelming evidence of collusion between the RUC, loyalists and the British Government in Patrick's murder.
The report's findings are based on witness statements - including from RUC members at the scene - as well as forensic reports. Evidence which the High Court had banned from being heard at the official inquest was also heard.
Judge Somers, the US judge who presided over the enquiry, said in summarising the report, ``not only is there ample evidence of collusion but one would have to come up with very strong evidence to argue that there was NOT collusion in Mr Shanahan's death, a policy of selective assassination by British Forces, loyalist killers and the British government and judiciary.''
The enquiry was chaired by Caitríona Ruane, involved an impressive panel of human rights activists including Paul Mageean, CAJ, Des Wilson, Martin Finucane of the Pat Finucane Centre, Fr Joe McVeigh, Jane Winters of British Irish Rights Watch. The Castlederg/Aghyaran Justice Group, chaired by Tina McGarvey, organised the enquiry which brought an entire community together to make a stand for the truth.
Patrick's sister, Mary Bogues, thanked everyone for their ``great achievement'' in publishing the report and stated the case eloquently: ``None of us should have to be here today. But in view of the way the RUC behaved, my family and indeed the whole community have had to speak out. We had no choice.
``We should not have had to wait five years for Patrick's inquest...We should not have had to listen to eyewitness accounts of Patrick's murder, for the first time first years after his death. We should not have had to listen in horror as a police officer calmly described how he refused to let a doctor attend Patrick as he lay dying...We should not have had to seek the support of an independent forensic expert to highlight the inadequacies of the police investigation into Patrick's death.
``We should have had the support of the law in helping us find out what happened to Patrick. Instead we found the legal system hindering our attempts to establish the truth.''
She cited the High Court order suppressing evidence of death threats against Patrick instead of investigating them, and another order barring the testimony of a forensic expert from the Coroner's Inquest. She reminded us of collusion, with photo montage and personal details falling from the back of a British Army vehicle and ending up in the hands of loyalists, on the RUC's own admission, and of the RUC constable under oath stating that he was instructed by a senior officer to go to the scene of a shooting at 8 am - a full 25 minutes before Patrick was shot. Witness after witness testified about RUC members actually boasting about being involved in his death.
Mrs Bogues called for two recommendations made by the recent Human Rights Watch/Helsinki report (on policing) to be implemented with respect to Patrick's murder:
1. The RUC should investigate Patrick's death in compliance with UN Principles on the effective Prevention and Investigation of Extra-legal, Arbitrary and Summary Executions.
2. The complaints by Patrick's mother to the Independent Commission on Police Complaints be investigated rigorously, and action taken against any RUC members found to have acted against the law or in violation of RUC policy.
Patrick's sister, Mrs Anna Pauling, praised the achievement of the Castlederg/Aghyaran Justice Group, commenting, ``Like so many families who have lost a loved one in violent circumstances, we have quietly accepted this as a tragedy of a society where we can have no hope of finding justice. In a community where we can have little faith in either the law or the political system, we must have the courage to speak the truth. The Castlederg/Aghyaran Justice Group has allowed us as a community to do this...We hope this will give other families who have lost loved ones in similar circumstances the courage to conduct their own inquiries.''
A copy of the report can be obtained from:
Castlederg/Aghyaran Justice Group, 84 Hillview Park, Castlederg, Co. Tyrone, BT1 7PR, for £3 (which includes p+p)