New doubts over Craigavon Two trial

Posted by Jim on November 6, 2015

The convictions against the Craigavon Two are on even shakier ground
after new details about key evidence was made public.
Brendan McConville and John Paul Wootton are the subject of an ongoing
miscarriage of justice campaign after they were wrongly convicted of a
Continuity IRA attack in Craigavon in March 2009, in which a member of
the PSNI was killed.

It emerged this week that the gun allegedly used in the attack was
identified based only on remarks made by a vulnerable person following
three illegal interrogations.

Papers from a European court case reveal that the person in question,
referred to as ‘RE’, should not have been questioned in the absence of
an appropriate adult. It also appears that a supposedly private
conversation between ‘RE’ and his lawyer was illegally spied upon.

‘RE’ was initially charged with withholding information about the
attack, but these charges were subsequently dropped.

The details only emerged after a case was taken against the British
government over concerns that the PSNI was carrying out surveillance of
conversations between ‘RE’ and his lawyer.

It emerged that man was arrested and interrogated three times in the
weeks after the attack. Court papers reveal that before being seen by a
lawyer or appropriate adult, the man innocently asked to speak to the
PSNI “off the record”.

His lawyers brought a separate case on his behalf to the European Court
which this week found that secret surveillance carried out on lawyers
and their clients is in breach of European law.

During the first two periods of interrogation his lawyer received
assurances that consultations would not be subject to covert
surveillance. During a third arrest the PSNI refused to give an
assurance.

The court ruling found that the man’s Article Eight rights under the
European Court of Human Rights had been violated.

Nichola Harte, of Harte, Coyle, Collins Solicitors, who represented
‘RE’, said the ruling has wider implications.

“The European Court criticised the inadequate procedures currently in
place in Northern Ireland for the handling, use, storage and destruction
of information obtained from covert surveillance of legal
consultations,” she said.

“The police arrangements were and continue to be a violation of the
right to respect for private life.

“This landmark European ruling has implications for all legal
consultations in police stations if subjected to covert surveillance.”

Brendan McConville’s lawyer Darragh Mackin, of KRW Law, has written to
Crown prosecutors requesting notes taken during interrogations of ‘RE’
and asking what happened to the charges levelled against him.