Posted by Jim on July 30, 2017
By Cait Trainor (for Damn Your Concessions)
Over the last few months I think we have all noticed the upsurge in IRA
membership charges facing Republicans in the 26 Counties, it seems every
other day someone is up in the Special Criminal Court; and this year
alone we have seen a number Republicans convicted and sent to Portlaoise
prison to serve sentences of a few years or more.
As Republicans we keep a keen eye on such developments, many of the
people facing these charges will be friends of ours, for some of you,
they may even be your family. The general public is apathetic towards
such things and is not aware of the high number of people charged, in
their mind the war is over, the jails are full of criminals, there are
no Political Prisoners. How the truth would shatter their illusions.
In the 32 Counties of Ireland, we have over 70 current Political
prisoners; this does not take into account the scores of people on bail
awaiting trial. Within this number we have people such as Tony Taylor,
interned without trial, no charges levied at him at all, and also the
widely accepted miscarriage of justice which is the Craigavon two. What
I don’t see being spoken about too much is the onslaught of IRA
membership charges; surely this is a campaign in itself?
A few weeks back I decided to look into the volumes of people facing IRA
membership charges, active cases not those who have already been
convicted. I found over 20 individuals who had active cases pending.
This shocked me, I like to believe that I am very up to date on all
cases, I knew about them individually but when they were put together as
a group the sheer volume was startling.
It is clear to me that IRA membership charges are being brought against
Republican activists in an attempt to censor them, in an attempt to
hamper the good work they are doing. Any Republican can be arrested and
charged with IRA membership, all it takes is the “belief” of a Chief
Superintendent. No evidence need be provided just simply the “belief” of
one person. When the charged person eventually gets to court; and the
Superintendent is questioned on their “belief” they have in the past
used privilege, in other words, secret information. Essentially you can
be arrested, charged and convicted of IRA membership without having any
specific allegation or evidence ever given to justify it.
If any such evidence did exist it would, of course, be provided by
informers, these class of people who are open to the highest bidder and
will say anything a person wants to hear in order to get paid. When
information, if it exists at all, is secret, it removes your fundamental
right to defend yourself; you cannot address what you do not know.
To add insult to injury the Court used for IRA membership is not a
normal court, these cases are heard in the Special criminal court, which
is a non-jury Diplock court presided over by 3 judges.
Let us look for a moment at the Garda Siochana, the police force who
brings these charges, the people who we are supposed to believe act with
such integrity that their word should be taken on accusations without
evidence.
This Police force has been dogged by scandals in recent years,
information from Whistle-blowers have exposed their blatant abuse of
power, from annulling thousands of penalty points for influential people
to recording nearly 1 million phantom alcohol breath tests on the
system, just to be clear recording test results that never actually
took place.
In the not so distant past, the Morris Tribunal was set up to
investigate Garda The tribunal investigated allegations of wrongdoing
and corruption in the Donegal division and ran from 2002 to 2008. It
concluded that Gardai in Donegal had fabricated explosives finds and had
planted firearms in order to justify the arrests of targeted people. It
also found some members had fabricated informants and intelligence
received.
This is just a brief mention of some of the more familiar scandals that
have emerged about an Garda Siochana, these are the same people who
arrest Republicans and put them on trial, the only thing needed is the
Word of a Garda Chief Superintendent. Now ask yourself is the “belief”
of a Superintendent in this force reputable? If they are prepared to lie
about breath tests, they are surely prepared to lie in high profile
court cases.
It would appear to me that the onslaught of charges against Republicans
is more corruption from the Gardai; they are once more abusing their
position of power to put away those who challenge the status quo, those
who are seen to be “dissidents”, those who are seen to be a problem. In
the recent and ongoing Jobstown Trial, had the defendants been subject
to the same kind of trial as those on IRA membership charges; Paul
Murphy and others would most certainly be in jail.
We must now look at these cases collectively, the people charged may be
from different organisations, indeed some are independent Republicans,
all, however, are victims of a corrupt Police force intent on quashing
any kind of Political dissident.
As more and more cases come to Court I believe we must up the ante in
our support, we have to be more vocal and expose what is going on, at
any time it could me you or me facing these charges, if we can do
nothing for the people currently facing charges, at least we can let the
state know we are aware of what is happening and that the jig is up!
Posted by Jim on
The widow of murdered defence lawyer Pat Finucane has been granted
permission to take her bid for a public inquiry into his death to the
highest court in England.
The 39-year-old Catholic was shot by loyalist paramilitaries, operating
in collusion with the British state, in front of his young family at
their home in Belfast in February 1989.
Geraldine Finucane is challenging former Prime Minister David Cameron’s
decision not to hold a public inquiry. She has described a 2012 report
commissioned by the British government as a “whitewash” and has pointed
out that a previous administration – Tony’s Blair’s Labour government –
had promised a public inquiry would be held.
Earlier this year, her long-running legal challenge was dismissed by the
Court of Appeal in Belfast. It ruled ministers were entitled to ignore
the promises of previous governments.
But on Wednesday afternoon, the family were notified that a committee of
Supreme Court Justices have granted Mrs Finucane permission to appeal
against the Tories refusal to honour their commitment to a public
inquiry.
Peter Madden, of Madden and Finucane, said: “The only way that the full
truth about Pat’s murder can be firmly established, and the extent to
which a policy of extra-judicial assassination of which Pat was a victim
was authorised by government, is by a full transparent public inquiry
where witnesses and documents are subject to intense scrutiny.
“We will seek to persuade the Supreme Court at the hearing of this
appeal that David Cameron acted unlawfully in refusing a public inquiry
and that the court should quash his decision.”
John Finucane said the family was delighted with the court’s “very
significant” decision.
“Our argument has obviously resonated with the court that they feel
these questions do warrant a full hearing and our family’s position is
very clear,” he told BBC radio.
“We believe there remain many unanswered questions into the
circumstances surrounding the murder of my father. The entire
methodology of [the 2012 de Silva report] is something that should
rightfully be criticised.
“What we were promised by the British government, along with other
families, was that if a judge found that there was enough evidence to
warrant a public inquiry, the relevant government would conduct and
enact that inquiry.”
He pointed out that promised public inquiries had gone ahead in other,
less controversial cases. “The only case that sits on the shelf is that
of my father,” he said.
MOUNT VERNON COLLUSION
The PSNI meanwhile have been given a final deadline to disclose all
relevant police files in a major High Court action over alleged
collusion with a loyalist paramilitary agent suspected of up to 15
murders.
The agent is identified in the case only as ‘Informant 1’.
A judge warned that failure to adhere to deliver the files by October 1
will result in him striking out the PSNI’s defence to a claim brought by
a north Belfast man who survived two attempts on his life by a police
agent who was acting in collusion with the unionist paramilitary UVF.
John Flynn, 57, is suing the PSNI over murder bids carried out by the
agent who operated in the Mount Vernon area of Belfast. Mr Flynn’s
action was triggered by the findings of Police Ombudsman Nuala O’Loan
that some Special Branch officers colluded with loyalist killers.
As part of the lawsuit Mr Flynn’s lawyers are continuing to seek access
to PSNI documents. They argued a police admission of partial liability
was a tactical move to avoid handing over all files on the informant and
cover over the full extent of alleged collusion.
An affidavit filed by Mr Flynn claimed the RUC/PSNI either failed to
arrest the agent for the murders and other crimes or else conducted
“sham” interviews, despite knowing he was a leading UVF figure.
Rejecting a police application for more time to meet discovery
obligations, Mr Justice Stephens said: “Years have passed without
compliance and there is no clear acceptable plan for future compliance.”
Posted by Jim on
Police chiefs frustrated investigation into Glennane Gang killings, Belfast court rules
Irish Times. Dublin. Friday, July 28, 2017
Police chiefs unlawfully frustrated any chance of an effective investigation into suspected state collusion with a loyalist gang behind more than 100 murders, the High Court in Belfast ruled today.
A judge held that victims’ families were denied in their legitimate expectation that the now-defunct Historical Enquiries Team (HET) would publish an overarching thematic report on the so-called Glennane Gang’s killing spree throughout the 1970s.
Among the crimes attributed to the Glennane Gang include some of the most notorious killings of The Troubles committed in the Republic, most notably the Dublin and Monaghan bombings of May 1974 that killed 33 people, including a woman who was nine months pregnant.
A draft HET report into alleged security force collaboration with the killers was said to have been 80 per cent finalized before being shelved. Relatives want to have police compelled to complete the full investigation and publish the findings.
Mr. Justice Treacy said: “The chief constable in halting that process which had been openly promised and which was acknowledged to be essential to the HET’s purpose has turned his back on a potentially rich source of evidential opportunities.
“The decision frustrates any possibility of an effective investigation which would fulfil the Article 2 (of the European Convention on Human Rights) duty which now arises and has foreclosed any possibility that the Artile 2 duty will be fulfilled.”
Lawyers were given until the start of September to try to agree on the appropriate form of relief in the case.
Up to 40 bereaved relatives packed into the courtroom to discover they had won their case. Judicial review proceedings were brought in the name of Edward Barnard. Mr Barnard’s 13-year-old brother Patrick was among four people killed in a St Patrick’s Day bomb attack on the Hillcrest Bar in Dungannon in March, 1976. Five years later Dungannon UVF member Garnet James Busby was convicted after admitting his role in the attack.
The gang, based at a farm in Glenanne, Armagh allegedly contained members of the Royal Ulster Constabulary and the Ulster Defense Regiment. Up to 120 murders in nearly 90 incidents in Mid Ulster and Irish Border areas are under scrutiny.
Miami Showband Massacre
They include murders such as the 1975 Miami Showband Massacre, when three members of the popular group were taken from their tour bus and shot dead on a country road in Banbridge, Co Down; and the Step Inn pub bombing in Keady a year later, which claimed the lives of two Catholics.
The gang is also suspected of bombing Kays Tavern on Crowe Street in Dundalk that killed two men in December 1975, the explosion outside the Three Star Inn in Castleblayney, Co Monaghan in March 1976 that left one man dead and the murder of IRA man John Francis Green in January 1975.
A draft HET report into alleged security force collaboration with the killers was said to have been 80 per cent finalized before being shelved.
Mr. Barnard and other relatives want to have police compelled to complete the full investigation and publish the findings.
During the hearing his barrister said documents in the case revealed Busby named two other suspects who allegedly took the bomb to the bar. He argued that the development represented fresh evidence in the case.
Counsel for the chief constable insisted it would be an unnecessary step to force police to finalize an overarching report he claimed had yielded no new investigative opportunities.
In his judgement the judge held that a package of measures for ensuring the independence of the HET, agreed by a Committee of Ministers in 2009, began to be “dismantled” a year later. In 2010 operation of the HET — which had its own £34 million budget — and all cases with potential evidential opportunities was transferred to the PSNI.
Four years later the PSNI established its Legacy Investigations Branch (LIB) to take over from the HET amid severe budgetary pressures. The LIB’s ability to continue its predecessor’s work is undermined by reduced resources, significantly reduced scope and lack of independence, according to the judge.
He pointed out how the HET had repeatedly pledged to analyze the Glenanne series of atrocities separately and complete a report. “The unfairness here is extreme — where the applicant had believed that the murder of his brother would finally be considered in context for the purposes of discovering if there was any evidence of collusion in the murder, that process is now completed and will not be taken up by any other body,”
The judge said: “It has completely undermined the confidence of the families whose concerns are not only still unresolved but compounded by the effects of the decisions taken by the then chief constable.”
Posted by Jim on
Irish News Editorial. Belfast. Saturday, July 29, 2017
The High Court ruling by Mr. Justice Seamus Treacy yesterday was not only an indictment of the PSNI’s approach to a case involving allegations of collusion and murder on an enormous scale but also a vindication of bereaved relatives who have fought long and hard for answers.
It is a significant judgment which once again places the spotlight on the investigation of legacy killings and raises questions about the police service’s commitment to ensuring the full truth about historic cases is finally revealed.
The notorious ‘Glenanne Gang’ operated during the 1970s and 1980s and are believed to be responsible for around 130 sectarian murders, including the Miami Showband massacre and many other atrocities.
Crucially, this UVF group also contained members of the RUC and UDR and allegations of security-force collusion go to the heart of this disturbing case.
As we know, families have long been frustrated in their attempts to discover the full circumstances of how relatives died and the extent of the collusion between police officers, serving soldiers and loyalist paramilitaries.
Many murders, particularly from the early years of the Troubles, were inadequately investigated at the time and although it was not perfect, the Historical Enquiries Team (HET) set up by Hugh Orde was at least a process that allowed for the reopening of cases and any available information provided to relatives.
The HET investigation into the activities of the Glenanne Gang was 80 per cent completed when the PSNI decided to halt the team’s work.
This decision was sharply criticized by Mr. Justice Treacy yesterday who ruled that the police failure to conduct an overarching examination of the extent of state collusion with the Glenanne Gang was “fundamentally inconsistent” with its obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights.
The judge was particularly scathing about former chief constable Matt Baggott and expressed “very grave concern” at decisions apparently taken by him to “dismantle and abandon” long held principles.
“There is a real risk that this will fuel in the minds of the families the fear that the state has resiled from its public commitments because it is not genuinely committed to addressing the unresolved concerns that the families have of state involvement,” the judge said.
Given that bereaved families have experienced so many setbacks, delays and barriers in their search for the truth, yesterday’s legal victory came as something of a surprise.
There was no hiding the delight that many felt at this judgment but it is also intolerable that people who have suffered so much have to fight so hard for a proper investigation into more than 100 murders.
It is clear the families will not give up but the onus is on the state to fulfil its obligations to the truth.
Fr. Sean Mc Manus
Posted by Jim on July 28, 2017
Greetings LAOH & AOH,
Prayer service for Freddie Crockett,
On Sunday Division #35 will be having a prayer service at Marine Park Funeral Home at 7:30 p.m. I will be conducting the ritual that is in the Blue Book.
I ask all officer’s & members to please join me and wear your office jewel & bring a sash if you have one thank you.
Eddie V.
President