11 September 1997 Edition
Lawyers accuse RUC of intimidation
Lawyers for Lurgan man Collie Duffy are accusing the RUC of being involved in a campaign of intimidation against people who have come forward to offer alibi evidence in Duffy's favour.
The lawyers say they have had to register three separate formal complaints against senior RUC officers who interferred with their attempts to represent Duffy who is charged with the killings of two RUC men in the County Armagh town in June of this year.
According to the lawyers a number of students who came forward to make statements supporting Duffy's case a senior RUC officer actively discouraged the young people by telling them they would have to give their witness statements on both video and audio tape.
``Young people don't want to appear on video giving evidence'', said the lawyers, ``they feel vulnerable and under scrutiny themselves, it is a pressure they don't want''.
As well the students and a solicitor were left sitting in the RUC barracks at the time because the RUC said no one was available to deal with them the RUC, ``was overstretched'' they were told.
And in a separate incident RUC detectives involved in the Duffy case telephoned a local man and said they knew he was in Church Walk at the time of the June killings. When the man denied this the RUC member insisted that he was in Church Walk and told him, ``you were seen''. However when the man refused to be intimidated the RUC asked him if ``he knew Collie Duffy and offered to speak to him'off the record'.
``Not only are the RUC trying to intimidate witnesses'', said Duffy's legal team, ``they are intent on building a false case, it won't work''.
Meanwhile British Labour MP Chris Mullin has criticised the RUC handling of the Duffy case. In a letter to Mo Mowlam, he wrote: ``When this case collapses - as I have no doubt it will - it will provide you with the opportunity for a root and branch shake-up of a system which...resolutely declines to learn any lessons and appears to a large extent to be rotten.''
The lawyers say they have had to register three separate formal complaints against senior RUC officers who interferred with their attempts to represent Duffy who is charged with the killings of two RUC men in the County Armagh town in June of this year.
According to the lawyers a number of students who came forward to make statements supporting Duffy's case a senior RUC officer actively discouraged the young people by telling them they would have to give their witness statements on both video and audio tape.
``Young people don't want to appear on video giving evidence'', said the lawyers, ``they feel vulnerable and under scrutiny themselves, it is a pressure they don't want''.
As well the students and a solicitor were left sitting in the RUC barracks at the time because the RUC said no one was available to deal with them the RUC, ``was overstretched'' they were told.
And in a separate incident RUC detectives involved in the Duffy case telephoned a local man and said they knew he was in Church Walk at the time of the June killings. When the man denied this the RUC member insisted that he was in Church Walk and told him, ``you were seen''. However when the man refused to be intimidated the RUC asked him if ``he knew Collie Duffy and offered to speak to him'off the record'.
``Not only are the RUC trying to intimidate witnesses'', said Duffy's legal team, ``they are intent on building a false case, it won't work''.
Meanwhile British Labour MP Chris Mullin has criticised the RUC handling of the Duffy case. In a letter to Mo Mowlam, he wrote: ``When this case collapses - as I have no doubt it will - it will provide you with the opportunity for a root and branch shake-up of a system which...resolutely declines to learn any lessons and appears to a large extent to be rotten.''