22 May 2008 Edition
Anger over latest delay in Pearse Jordan Inquest
There is deep anger this week at the latest delays in beginning the inquest into the killing of Pearse Jordan by the RUC 16 years ago. The delays are due to the failure of the PSNI to comply with the demands of the coroner.
IRA Volunteer Pearse Jordan (22) was gunned down in a shoot-to-kill operation on the Falls Road in West Belfast on 25 November 1992, when two vehicles carrying members of an elite RUC unit rammed his car outside the City Cemetery. Jordan was shot three times in the back from close range as he stumbled from the car. He died a short time later.
Witnesses said no warning was given before the RUC opened fire. RUC claims that Pearse Jordan was armed at the time of his death were subsequently exposed as completely untrue.
Pearse Jordan’s parents, Hugh and Teresa, have continuously fought for an inquest into the killing of their son. Their struggle for justice has been marked at every turn by concealment and cover-up by the British state. An inquest into the killing has been repeatedly adjourned since it was first brought before the Coroner’s Court in January 1995.
The latest delays in beginning the inquest must be seen against this backdrop.
In 2001 the European Court of Human Rights ordered the British Government to pay fines to the families of several people killed by the British armed forces, including that of Pearse Jordan, after holding that the men’s human rights were violated by flawed inquest procedures. The Jordan family was awarded £10,000 in damages. Following this judgment, the British law regarding inquests was changed.
The failure by the PSNI to comply fully and speedily with the demands of the coroner is completely unacceptable.
Sinn Féin has raised this case repeatedly over the years and will continue to do so until Pearse Jordan’s family are satisfied that they have got justice for their son.
IRA Volunteer Pearse Jordan (22) was gunned down in a shoot-to-kill operation on the Falls Road in West Belfast on 25 November 1992, when two vehicles carrying members of an elite RUC unit rammed his car outside the City Cemetery. Jordan was shot three times in the back from close range as he stumbled from the car. He died a short time later.
Witnesses said no warning was given before the RUC opened fire. RUC claims that Pearse Jordan was armed at the time of his death were subsequently exposed as completely untrue.
Pearse Jordan’s parents, Hugh and Teresa, have continuously fought for an inquest into the killing of their son. Their struggle for justice has been marked at every turn by concealment and cover-up by the British state. An inquest into the killing has been repeatedly adjourned since it was first brought before the Coroner’s Court in January 1995.
The latest delays in beginning the inquest must be seen against this backdrop.
In 2001 the European Court of Human Rights ordered the British Government to pay fines to the families of several people killed by the British armed forces, including that of Pearse Jordan, after holding that the men’s human rights were violated by flawed inquest procedures. The Jordan family was awarded £10,000 in damages. Following this judgment, the British law regarding inquests was changed.
The failure by the PSNI to comply fully and speedily with the demands of the coroner is completely unacceptable.
Sinn Féin has raised this case repeatedly over the years and will continue to do so until Pearse Jordan’s family are satisfied that they have got justice for their son.