Amnesty International has repeated its call to the Irish Government to request a re-opening of the landmark European Court of Human Rights 1978 judgement in Ireland v UK involving the torture of 14 so-called ‘hooded men’, who were interned in Northern Ireland in 1971.
The call comes on the eve of a crucial meeting of the Irish Cabinet which may decide if the government will seek a revision of the European Court’s decision, in light of revelations that the UK government withheld crucial evidence from the European Court during the hearing.
Today (Monday) the Irish High Court adjourned to 3pm tomorrow an application by the ‘hooded men’ seeking to compel the Irish Government to decide on requesting the European Court of Human Rights to reopen the 1978 Ireland v UK judgement.
It was adjourned to follow the Cabinet meeting tomorrow morning where the issue is due to be discussed.
Colm O’Gorman, Executive Director of Amnesty International Ireland, said:“The decision by the High Court today serves to highlight how pivotal tomorrow’s Cabinet meeting will be. Tomorrow is the Cabinet’s last opportunity ahead of the December 4 deadline to do the right thing.”
“43 years after Jack Lynch’s Government took the courageous step of bringing the UK to the European Court, we are appealing to the current one to follow this through.It must not shirk its moral duty by letting this case drop.”
Patrick Corrigan, Amnesty International’s Northern Ireland Programme Director, said:“Northern Ireland is haunted by the past because it has not been dealt with honestly. Trying to resolve the issues of the past around conference room tables without addressing the traumas still blighting lives cannot work. There can be no stable and lasting peace without truth and justice, including in this case.”
“The clock has almost run down and we are calling on the Irish Government to make the morally right decision – not only for those fourteen brutalised ‘hooded men’, but for generations to come.”