Call for inquiry into shooting of Diarmuid O Neill
SERIOUS questions have been raised over the shooting of Volunteer
Diarmuid O Neill as the trial of three Irish republicans came to
a close in London on Tuesday.
Diarmuid was shot dead by police in London as they raided the
house in Hammersmith in which he lay sleeping. During the trial
disclosures were made by police which stand in contradictin to
claims they made at the time.
News reports on the morning of 23 September,1996, carried reports
that an ``IRA suspect'' had been shot dead in West London. The news
developed with reports that the man had been killed in a gun
battle and that there was a bomb factory in the house.
However, at the trial it transpired that Diarmuid O Neill was
unarmed, that no weapons nor explosives were found on the
premises and that the only shots fired were fired by the police.
Diarmuid was shot a total of six times; as he lay bleeding a
police man stood over his head and with blood pouring from him;
he was dragged down the steps of the house and into the street,
where he was denied medical attention for 25 minutes.
Diarmuid was shot by a policeman named in the trial as `Kilo,' a
member of the Metropolitan firearms unit. The operation started
at 4.30am, but at 3.00am, as part of their briefing, officers
taking part were shown a film of the aftermath of the bomb at
Canary Wharf. There was also a video of an alleged weapons cache
in a store, suggesting that the police were whipped into a frenzy
before being sent to the house in Hammersmith.
Testimony by police at the trial, as well as a tape of the raid
made by police which was played in court, have cast doubts on the
police version of events.
Brian McHugh, one of two people with Diarmuid when he was shot,
described the police action as being calculated to cause the
death of one or more of them. Both he and Partick Kelly were very
lucky to have escaped from being shot dead by the police.
The Justice for Diarmuid O Neill Campaign has demanded a full
independent public inquiry into the shooting and its call has
recieved support from MP's John O Donnell, Ken Livingstone and
Jeremy Corbyn. Amnesty International, trade unions, human rights
groups and Irish support groups in England have all voiced their
support for an inquiry.
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