20th Anniversary of the murder of Pat Finucane
12.2.2009
Reports obtained from:
(1) Amnesty International, (2) Pat Finucane Centre, (3) Irish Times, (4) Troops Out Movement
Wednesday, 11 February, 2009
Thursday, 12 February, 2009
Amnesty International - Public Statement
Patrick Finucane: twenty years on, still no inquiry
UK/Northern Ireland: Public Statement (EUR 45/002/2009)
See also: Twenty years on, still no inquiry into Patrick Finucane's death
On the eve of the twentieth anniversary of the killing of Patrick Finucane, Amnesty International is calling on the government of the UK to live up to its repeated promises to hold an independent public inquiry into the circumstances of his death.
Patrick Finucane was shot dead in front of his wife and three children at his home in Belfast, Northern Ireland on 12 February 1989. In the aftermath of his death, extensive and compelling evidence began to emerge that his killing took place within the context of widespread state collusion with armed groups. Further evidence has transpired since then, giving rise to a strong suspicion that state agencies may have played a part in attempting to cover up state collusion in his murder.
Twenty years later, the government of the UK has still failed to establish a genuinely independent public inquiry into all of the circumstances of his death, including into credible evidence that UK state agents colluded in the killing.
An independent public inquiry is a matter of real urgency. Some key witnesses who would have been crucial to any inquiry have already died; the recollection of others may be fading, and relevant documentation may be lost, or even destroyed.
This continued delay is also prolonging the pain and suffering of Patrick Finucane’s family, who are denied the opportunity to know the facts about how he was killed.
Amnesty International urges the government of the UK to confront its obligations in this case once and for all by instigating, without further delay, the genuinely independent public inquiry which it has repeatedly promised. The allegations of serious human rights violations which have been made in this case will not go away: a continued failure to ensure that these allegations are subject to full and rigorous independent scrutiny will be profoundly corrosive of public confidence in the rule of law in the UK.
The UK government continues to insist that an inquiry in this case can only be held under legislation – the Inquiries Act 2005 – which will effectively extinguish the chances of a genuinely independent and effective investigation. In July 2008, the Human Rights Committee, an expert human rights body of the United Nations, expressed its concern at this legislation, because it ”allows the government minister who established an inquiry to control important aspects of that inquiry”. A minister who set up an inquiry under the 2005 Act could, for instance, order that the public be excluded from part of the hearings, and could order that material be withheld from the final published report of the inquiry.
Similar concerns about the provisions of the Inquiries Act have been voiced by senior members of the judiciary in the UK and elsewhere; by the Joint Committee on Human Rights of the UK parliament; and by national and international human rights organizations. Concerns have also been expressed in resolutions adopted by the Dáil in the Republic of Ireland, and by the House of Representatives of the Congress of the United States of America.
The UK government has repeatedly made it clear that it intends to use these powers to ensure that part of any inquiry into the killing of Patrick Finucane would be held in secret, behind closed doors, and in the absence of the Finucane family.
Background Ever since he was killed, the family of Patrick Finucane have campaigned tirelessly for a genuinely independent public inquiry into the circumstances of his death. On 14 February 2009 a conference organized by the Finucane family, together with the non-governmental organization British Irish Rights Watch, will be held at Trinity College, Dublin, to consider the life and legacy of Patrick Finucane, and the ongoing efforts to secure accountability for his killing.
In October 1997 the then UN Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, Dato’ Param Cumaraswamy, undertook a fact-finding mission to Northern Ireland to investigate allegations of intimidation and harassment of defence lawyers. In his report the Special Rapporteur said: “As a high profile lawyer who had tremendous success representing his clients, both before domestic courts and the European Court of Human Rights, [Patrick Finucane’s] murder had a chilling effect on the profession and further undermined public confidence in the judicial system […] so long as this murder is unresolved, many in the community will continue to lack confidence in the ability of the Government to dispense justice in a fair and equitable manner”.
In July 2003 the European Court of Human Rights ruled, in the case of Finucane v UK, that “the proceedings following the death of Patrick Finucane failed to provide a prompt and effective investigation into the allegations of collusion by security personnel”, and that there had therefore been a violation of Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights in his case.
Kenneth Barrett, a former loyalist paramilitary, was convicted in 2003 of the murder of Patrick Finucane. Since he had pleaded guilty to 12 charges, including that of the murder of Patrick Finucane, no significant information about alleged state collusion in the killing or about the alleged subsequent official cover-up emerged in court.
Also in 2003 Sir John Stevens, a senior UK police officer who carried out three inquiries into allegations of collusion between the security forces and loyalist paramilitaries in Northern Ireland, confirmed that his investigations had uncovered evidence of “collusion, the wilful failure to keep records, the absence of accountability, the withholding of intelligence and evidence, and the extreme of agents being involved in murder”.
The full findings of the investigations conducted by John Stevens have, however, remained secret, not only from the public but also from the Finucane family and their lawyers.
In September 2004, following the partial publication of the report of the investigation into the case conducted by Justice Peter Cory, a retired Canadian Supreme Court judge, and pursuant to the agreement reached in 2001 at Weston Park between the governments of the UK and the Republic of Ireland on the implementation of the Good Friday Agreement, the then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, the Rt Hon Paul Murphy MP, announced that “steps should now be taken to enable the establishment of an inquiry into the death of Patrick Finucane”.
In June 2007, following an extremely lengthy delay, the Director of Public Prosecutions for Northern Ireland announced that no further charges would be brought following the review of the material submitted by the third investigation conducted by Sir John Stevens (‘Stevens III’).
Copyright © Amnesty International 2009
20th Anniversary of the murder of Pat Finucane
Thursday 12th February marks the 20th anniversary of the murder of human rights solicitor Patrick Finucane. His murder was carried out by UDA agents, planned by the British army’s Force Research Unit, upon the British Government’s direction. There have been government appointed investigations including those by John Stevens and Judge Peter Corry which all justify the Finucane family’s conviction that state sponsored collusion was the director and executor of Patrick Finucane. Despite the unquestionable evidence and assurances at varying stages of political negotiations the British government has refused to comply with its obligations to provide a full independent international public inquiry into the murder of this human rights solicitor.
Patrick Finucane was a son, a husband, a father of three and a brother who is dearly missed by his family. He was a pioneer in human rights advocacy and his legacy lives on through the new generation of human rights lawyers who carried on his work and proceeded him. He represented those most dispossessed, censored and marginalized during the conflict, and is remembered for his vigour and commitment to cases which hitherto had seemed hopeless. It was this dedication which led to him being targeted and executed.
In his memory and in order to highlight the burning demand for truth around his death Relatives for Justice will be organizing two events on the day of Pat Finucane’s anniversary.
On Thursday 12th February at 12.30pm there will be a vigil of remembrance at the High Court, Chichester Street, Mike Ritchie Director of the Committee on the Administration of Justice and Monsignor Raymond Murray, friend of Pat Finucane and founder member of Relatives for Justice, will be speaking.
That evening at 7pm in St Mary’s College Falls Road there will be a Public Meeting – Pat Finucane: Time for Truth. This public meeting will be addressed by Seamus Finucane, brother of Pat, Peter Madden, Pat’s law practice partner , Jim McCabe, husband of Nora McCabe, whom Pat Finucane represented, Alex Maskey MLA, who was targeted by UDA agent Brian Nelson and subsequently shot and injured. The event will be chaired by Relatives for Justice chairperson and friend of Pat Finucane Clara Reilly.
Madden & Finucane SolicitorsI still want justice for my son Patrick says solicitor’s mother
By The Irish Times
On the 20th anniversary of the murder of Pat Finucane, his mother Kathleen has broken her silence to describe her ongoing grief and her family’s long search for truth. She spoke to Barry McCaffrey
It is now 20 years since UDA gunmen burst into Pat Finucane’s north Belfast home and shot him dead in front of his wife and children as they sat down to Sunday dinner.
For two decades Kathleen Finucane has maintained a dignified silence following the murder of her eldest son. Now, on the anniversary of his death and with no indication that the British government will allow a full public inquiry into his killing, Mrs Finucane has decided to break her silence.
“The pain of losing Patrick has never ever left me,” the 85 year-old widow said. “I have cried and prayed for him every single day since he was taken from me. He was so special and a good, loving son to his father and myself.”
The eldest of eight children, Pat Finucane benefited from the post-war education system and in 1969 was the first in his family to go to university, studying philosophy and English at Trinity College Dublin. The young student had already witnessed sectarianism at first hand when his family were forced to flee their home at Percy Street near the Shankill when the Troubles broke out in 1969.
A decade later his father, also Patrick, would die from a heart attack following a British army raid on the family home.
Mrs Finucane recalled her sense of pride when her eldest son was accepted into Trinity.
“We were all so very proud of Patrick. I was delighted when he went to university,” she said. “I wanted all my children to benefit from education.”
A gifted footballer, Mr Finucane captained his university soccer team and would later sign for Irish League team Ards.
In Dublin he met and fell in love with a northern Protestant girl called Geraldine. After graduating they married and returned to Belfast where Pat decided that he wanted to become a lawyer.
In 1979 he set up in partnership with close friend Peter Madden. Over the next 10 years Mr Finucane became one of the north’s most high-profile lawyers, winning a series of landmark cases against the British government. In 1981 he represented hunger striker Bobby Sands and in 1983 a number of the families of six unarmed republicans shot dead in the ‘shoot-to-kill’ controversy. He represented loyalist clients as well but his successes against the state led to accusations of being an ‘IRA lawyer’. In January 1989 Home Office minister Douglas Hogg claimed in the House of Commons that a number of unnamed solicitors were `unduly sympathetic’ to the IRA.
Mrs Finucane said her eldest son would visit or speak to her every day but kept death threats he received from her. However, she remembers a sense of dread when she heard Douglas Hogg’s comments.
On the evening of Sunday February 12 1989 Mrs Finucane was visiting a family friend when her son Martin unexpectedly arrived. She knew instantly that something was seriously wrong. “I knew right away once I saw Martin’s face that he had bad news for me,” she said. “I knew that harm had come to one of my sons. I was in a terrible state when Martin broke the news to me that Patrick had been murdered. I just broke down and was inconsolable in tears and shock. I was totally devastated, deep inside. My heart has been broken every day since.”
Within a short period evidence began to emerge of security force collusion in her son’s murder. UDA leader Tommy Lyttle claimed that loyalists being questioned in Castlereagh were encouraged to target Pat Finucane. British army agent Brian Nelson was shown to have planned the murder while the UDA man who supplied the guns, Billy Stobie, was a Special Branch agent who claimed that he warned police that an attack was imminent the day before Mr Finucane was killed.
In 2003 Britain’s most senior policeman Sir John (now Lord) Stevens publicly confirmed security force collusion in the solicitor’s murder. Later that year the European Court of Human Rights also ruled that there had been “no effective’’ police investigation into the killing. The European judges found that there had been a lack of independence in the RUC’s handling of the case, “which raised serious doubts as to the thoroughness or effectiveness with which the possibility of collusion had been pursued”. They also raised serious concerns that the inquest into the solicitor’s murder had failed to address the collusion allegations and that Geraldine Finucane had not been allowed to tell it about death threats to her husband.
In 2004 Judge Peter Cory concluded that the evidence of security force collusion warranted a public inquiry. The British government proposed an inquiry but only under the terms of new legislation which allowed ministers to place restrictions on evidence and witnesses. The family refused to accept these conditions and progress on the inquiry has been stalled since 2006.
“I have never got over Patrick’s death, ever,” his mother said. “It still haunts me to this very day, the pain is still very raw. Every time I read about it in the newspapers or see Patrick’s face on the news it breaks my heart. It makes me so sad and brings back such painful memories. I find it so hard when it comes to the anniversary of his murder.”
Mrs Finucane also expressed frustration at the British government’s continued attempts to block a full public inquiry.
“I want to see truth and justice for my family and for Patrick,” she said. “I’m not a young woman anymore and have come through many painful and sad times. The deaths of loved ones, but especially your children, are the most painful for a mother. I may not be with my family for long. All I want for us all is to have truth and justice.”
Mrs Finucane said she would only accept an independent, international inquiry into her son’s murder. “I don’t trust the British government. I never have and I never will,” she said. “They murdered my son and they must be brought to justice. Patrick was a good lawyer. He was only doing his job and representing his clients to the best of his ability. He was challenging the injustices of the British state and they murdered him for it.”
Copyright © Irish Times 2009
20th Anniversary of the State Murder of Pat Finucane
Today is the 20th Anniversary of the British State Murder of Belfast Human Rights solicitor Pat Finucane. Ulster Defence Association (UDA) gunmen burst into his home and shot him dead in front of his wife Geraldine and their children.
Over a period of 15 years, former of the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, Lord Stevens, carried out three investigations into security force collusion with loyalist paramilitaries. In April 2003 Stevens publicly confirmed that security force members had colluded in Pat Finucane’s murder and that his life could have been saved. In 2004 retired Canadian judge, Peter Cory, concluded from his Inquiry that there was sufficient evidence of security force collusion in Mr Finucane’s murder to justify a public inquiry. Instead, the British government rushed the Inquiries Act 2005 through parliament which essentially heralded the end of genuine public inquiries.
Below is the first public interview with Pat’s mother, Kathleen, and attached is a Troops Out Movement information sheet on the Inquiries Act 2005. For other articles on the case see http://www.troopsoutmovement.com/latestnews.htm
Please use this information to inform people wherever you can & call for the repeal of the Inquiries Act 2005 and an International Independent Inquiry - Write to: