A United Nations delegation will visit London and Belfast
this week to investigate complaints that lawyers defending IRA suspects are
being harassed by the RUC.
As the UN's special investigator, Malaysian lawyer Param Cumaraswamy prepared to
meet judges and lawyers, one Northern Ireland solicitor claimed that
intimidation by RUC officers was widespread.
Peter Madden says he has been demanding an independent investigation into
solicitors' claims of verbal abuse and death threats for the past 10 years.
"It's very widespread and has been going on for some considerable time," he
claimed. "Lawyers are threatened when they come to the holding centre to see
their client. There have also been threatening phonecalls in the middle of the
night." Only a small number of legal practices in Northern Ireland will deal
with "scheduled" or paramilitary offences. Pearse MacDermott of the Solicitors'
Criminal Bar Association said: "We work in an adversarial system but it
shouldn't involve naked aggression. "Lawyers have been reluctant to put their
heads above the parapet in case it exacerbates things. They tend to take their
own security precautions and keep their heads down." Mr Cumaraswamy, who arrives
in Britain for a 10-day visit today, will meet British government ministers,
judges and lawyers and is hoping to visit detention centres in Northern Ireland.
His agenda will include the case of Pat Finucane, Mr Madden's colleague who
received death threats and was later killed by loyalists in 1989. "There were
very serious threats made to Pat shortly before he was shot and one of those
said he would be, and should be shot by loyalists," said Mr Madden. New RUC
rules enabling the tapping of telephones will also come under scrutiny, UN
sources said. The RUC said it would cooperate with any genuine investigation.