Shoot-to-Kill Inquest Delay Challenged
01 October 2009 --
The failure to hold an inquest into the killing of two
unarmed IRA Volunteers by the SAS in October 1990 can be
challenged, a Belfast court has ruled. Judge Weatherup
granted permission to relatives of the two men to seek a
judicial review due to the “undeniable inordinate delay” in
holding an inquest into the deaths.
Dessie Grew (37) and Martin McCaughey (23) were shot dead
close to farm buildings in Lislasley outside Loughgall,
County Armagh. Their deaths were part of a series of
shootings which led to allegations of a shoot-to-kill policy
of ambush and summary execution carried out by British and
British trained forces.
The families argued that the failure to hold a prompt
inquest contravenes their rights under European legislation.
The families have expressed fears that the longest
outstanding inquest will be subject to further delay because
the latest probe into the killings being conducted by the
PSNI’s Historical Enquiries Team may not be concluded until
the end of 2010. Judge Weatherup said he would wait for the
coroner to decide next month whether to allow a further
delay at the behest of the HET.
Lawyers acting for the families have also called for a
tribunal on the grounds that Britain’s shoot-to-kill policy
was in breach of European Right to Life provisions. The
Human Rights Act incorporated European Human Rights
legislation into Britain’s domestic law in 2000. But as an
original signatory the British government ratified the
European Convention on Human Rights almost 50 years earlier.
Addressing the preliminary hearing, solicitor Fearghal
Shiels of Madden and Finucane said the families believed the
British state had “clearly breached its legal obligations to
conduct an effective official investigation into the deaths.
“The RUC officers who investigated the killings lacked the
requisite degree of independence from the undercover
soldiers involved in the shooting,” said Shiels.
“No attempt was made to seriously challenge the excessive
force used, involving the firing of at least 72 rounds and
in circumstances where one of the men was shot twice on the
ground as he was dying or already dead,” said Shiels.
In a recent House of Lords ruling the British have sought to
thwart any move towards the establishment of an independent
investigation into contentious shoot-to-kill deaths on the
grounds that European legislation could not be applied
retrospectively. However a recent European Court of Human
Rights ruling on a similar case in Slovenia has created the
opportunity for the British ruling to be further challenged.
It would be shameful, if the incorporation of European Human
Rights legislation into Britain’s domestic law was simply
used as a mechanism to enable British courts to shield the
British state by restricting citizens within its
jurisdiction access to its provisions and protections.
Barrister Karen Quinlivan said the families would be
appealing Judge Weatherup’s decision to endorse the House of
Lords ruling.
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