Relatives for Justice call for Historical Enquiries Team to be replaced

» John Hedges

An Phoblacht Editor

‘The police cannot investigate the police’ – Sinn Féin MLA Pat Sheehan

RELATIVES FOR JUSTICE will hand in a letter to the North’s Policing Board today (Thursday) calling for the Historical Enquiries Team to be shut down and replaced by "a proper independent investigative process aimed at getting to the truth and in providing accountability".

The HET was set up in 2005 to re-examine 3,260 conflict-related killings.

In July of this year, the North's Policing Board said it had no confidence in the leadership of the HET after a damning report by the HMIC police watchdog into the HET’s practices.

At the time, Sinn Féin MLA Pat Sheehan said:

"Sinn Féin has always insisted that the HET is not independent. It does not command widespread public confidence and is not compliant with the international human rights obligations which bind the British Government.

“The HMIC report confirms there must be an alternative to the HET – it has acted unlawfully.

“Following the report many people will feel that the HET is irretrievably damaged. Some of those representing families bereaved by state violence have already made that position clear.

“The police cannot investigate the police and to suggest that as a remedy to this scandal is a step backwards and nonsensical. We need to find an effective and credible alternative, one which is inclusive of all citizens in our society.”

Relatives for Justice said this week that, throughout the month of August, RFJ held a series of meetings with families to assess their views and formulate a way forward in terms of addressing conflict related killings. Over 300 families bereaved by all participants to the conflict and who have engaged or are still engaged in the HET process took part in the meetings.

Today, the RFJ and a number of bereaved relatives will deliver a letter and short submission of the views expressed by the families to members of the Policing Board.

RFJ Director Mark Thompson (pictured right) said:

“Families will hold a short gathering today, some carrying photographs of their loved ones.

“All will call for the HET to go.

“Of the families who were part of the meetings, none wanted the HET to remain or to be involved in examining the killings of their loved ones.

“They have absolutely no confidence in the ability of the HET. It is beyond reform.”

Mark Thompson said families will ask the Policing Board to dissolve the HET and to put their energies into creating a proper independent investigative process aimed at getting to the truth and in providing accountability.

“Families will also raise the matter of the PSNI Chief Constable having knowledge that the HET practice of examining killings carried out by the British Army were unlawful since at least 2010 when the PPS wrote to him advising of this, yet he continued to support that practice until July 2013, until the HMIC made this public.

“Families will also raise the fact that despite examining hundreds of killings in which collusion was a feature, including evidenced via other reports, that the HET have yet to make a finding of collusion. This is incredulous for families from all sides of the community affected by collusion.”