16 December 1999 Edition
Castlereagh
The announcement that Castlereagh interrogation centre is to close, while welcome, does not go far enough.
Allegations of torture within Castlereagh have become the focus of investigations from a number of Human Rights groups, including Amnesty International, while a number of UN bodies have called for its closure.
The most recent case of brutality meted out to a republican in Castlereagh was that of Davy Adams, who won a £30,000 civil case against the RUC. After his arrest in 1994, RUC members in Castlereagh took turns jumping on Adams's legs, breaking one. The West Belfast man spent three weeks in hospital with a punctured lung and broken ribs, injuries also inflicted in the interrogation centre.
During the late 1970s and early 1980s, Castlereagh became synonymous with the torture of republican detainees, leading to the Bennet Report.
One of the most controversial cases was the death of 27-year-old Brian Maguire, who was found hanging in his cell after a day of interrogation in 1978.
Later, a UDA man who was held in the cell opposite Brian Maguire reported that RUC detectives asked him what he thought of their handiwork, referring to Maguire's death.
While many are hailing the closure of Castlereagh as a significant change in the RUC, we must remember that those who killed Brian Maguire, brutally assaulted Davy Adams and tortured thousands of people to obtain false confessions are more than likely still members of that force.
Castlereagh did not torture people, the RUC did. The only thing which will end the inhuman treatment of the nationalist population will be the disbanding of the RUC.
Allegations of torture within Castlereagh have become the focus of investigations from a number of Human Rights groups, including Amnesty International, while a number of UN bodies have called for its closure.
The most recent case of brutality meted out to a republican in Castlereagh was that of Davy Adams, who won a £30,000 civil case against the RUC. After his arrest in 1994, RUC members in Castlereagh took turns jumping on Adams's legs, breaking one. The West Belfast man spent three weeks in hospital with a punctured lung and broken ribs, injuries also inflicted in the interrogation centre.
During the late 1970s and early 1980s, Castlereagh became synonymous with the torture of republican detainees, leading to the Bennet Report.
One of the most controversial cases was the death of 27-year-old Brian Maguire, who was found hanging in his cell after a day of interrogation in 1978.
Later, a UDA man who was held in the cell opposite Brian Maguire reported that RUC detectives asked him what he thought of their handiwork, referring to Maguire's death.
While many are hailing the closure of Castlereagh as a significant change in the RUC, we must remember that those who killed Brian Maguire, brutally assaulted Davy Adams and tortured thousands of people to obtain false confessions are more than likely still members of that force.
Castlereagh did not torture people, the RUC did. The only thing which will end the inhuman treatment of the nationalist population will be the disbanding of the RUC.