Republican News · Thursday 13 March 1997

Branch try to recruit Kilrea man

Malachy O'Kane, Sinn Féin's East Derry candidate, has blasted RUC Special Branch recruitment attempts, and urged anyone so approached to make the matter public, after a Kilrea man was targeted.

The man, in his twenties, who does not wish to be identified, was arrested returning from the Bloody Sunday march on 2 February, taken to Lisnagelvin RUC barracks.

He was then visited at home last week by a middle-aged plainclothes RUC member, who volunteered to sort out the drink-driving charge if he in turn helped the RUC. The Kilrea man angrily refused, but was later visited by several uniformed officers at his mother's home.

O'Kane said: ``This is the second attempt to recruit this young man. When he was first approached in 1990 and asked to work as an informer two of those named by the RUC - Danny Cassidy and Tom Donaghy - were subsequently assassinated by loyalist death squads in circumstances which pointed very heavily to RUC/UDR collusion.

``This latest attempt is a clear indication that the same forces are still at work and I urge anyone who is approached in a similar vein to immediately contact Sinn Fein or a solicitor and to publicise these attempts at recruitment.''

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