On the 12th of February 1989 Belfast lawyer Patrick Finucane was shot dead in front of his family by Loyalist gunmen. Since his death, evidence has come to light which strongly suggests collusion between military intelligence agents and Loyalist paramilitary organizations in his killing.
In April 1998 the UN Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers issued a report which he called on the UK Government to institute a judicial inquiry into the killing of Patrick Finucane. He stated:
"The doubt which needs to be cleared, is whether there was security forces collusion in the murder. That seems to be the outstanding issue and only a judicial inquiry could resolve this."
The following international and national NGOs (Non-Governmental Organizations) are supporting the UN Special Rapporteur’s appeal for a judiciary inquiry into this killing:
Amnesty International, the International Commission of Jurists, Human Rights Watch, the International Fedration of Human Rights, the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights, the Committee on the Administration of Justice and British Irish Rights Watch.
We, the undersigned, urge the UK Government to set up an independant judicial inquiry into the killing of Patrick Finucane.
(this text was formulated by Amnesty International )
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