Im Berufungsverfahren ist gestern das Urteil gesprochen worden. Nach fast 12 Jahren Haft wurde Danny McNamee's Unschuld bestätigt. Demnächst folgt ein ausführlicher Artikel in Deutsch dazu.

The last Irish miscarriage of justice case in England was finally ended today after Danny McNamee won his appeal against his conviction for conspiracy to cause explosions in London in 1982.

McNamee spent 11 years in appalling and inhuman jail conditions for a crime he did not commit, depicted as a "master bomb-maker" by British propogandists. Most damning, the prosecuting authorities are believed to have been aware of McNamee's innocence at the time.

The three appeal judges repeated the begrudging conclusion made in the infamous Birmingham Six case when they alleged that McNamee might not be innocent of the charge.

Lord Justice Winton Thomas said they had to accept that Danny's original trial would not have found him guilty had all the facts been made available to it. Forensic evidence linked the explosive devices alleged to have been made by Danny to another well-known IRA Volunteer, Dessie Ellis. But this evidence was deliberately withheld from the original trial.

Danny, from Crossmaglen, South Armagh, had already been released under the Good Friday agreement. But his family and supporters quickly celebrated a victory, won through years of letter-writing, public campaigning and painstaking legal and investigative efforts.

Danny's case was eventually referred back to the Court of Appeal on a number of issues, including disclosure of evidence at the time of his trial, scientific and fingerprint evidence.

As the judges left the bench a supporter shouted the long unspoken reality: "He was framed. Why don't you just admit it."

Afterwards, Danny hugged and kissed jubilant wellwishers, and said: "Of course I'm vindicated. It's proved I was not guilty, even in a really grudging way." He said although he had already been freed under the terms of the Good Friday talks deal it had been important to him to clear his name. "It is acknowledgement that I spent twelve and a half years in prison for something I did not do," he said.

He confirmed that he would be seeking compensation but said the principle was more important than any money he might receive.

"It was important to show what had been done. The prosecution had presented a completely false case against me knowing it was false," he said.

He said that the judges had to be dragged kicking and screaming into delivering today's ruling. "You would have thought they were interested in why the false case was brought but the fact is they do not care," he said.

His lawyer Gareth Peirce said that he would have welcomed a retrial, an option turned down by prosecutors.

"And we have no doubt that if there had been, the jury would have declared his innocence."

Aus RM-Distribution 18.12.1998

Siehe auch: Kampagne zu Danny  McNamee.

Weitere Informationen über Danny's Fall findet Ihr auf der Danny McNamee Campaign Webpage (Englisch).