Conspiracy of silence in Hamill case
Secret phone call revealed
WITHIN THREE DAYS OF THE DEATH of Portadown Catholic Robert
Hamill, beaten to death by loyalists, an anonymous caller to a
local priest said one of the RUC officers who witnessed the
attack was an acquaintance of one of those eventually charged
with the murder.
The man, and two co-accused, have since had the murder charges
against them dropped, prompting the Hamill family to pursue a
private prosecution against the RUC and the people they suspect
are guilty of the killng.
The charges against the three men were dropped when the DPP said
that witness statements against the three were no longer
available raising speculation that the RUC witnesses were no
longer prepared to give evidence.
Family solicitor Rosemary Nelson told An Phoblacht that she hoped
to get leading English barrister Michael Mansfield to handle any
prosecution the family may take.
Robert Hamill, accompanied by three friends, was returning from a
night out in Saint Patrick's Hall on 27 April this year when he
was set upon by a gang of loyalists and severely beaten. Twelve
days later he died without regaining consciousness.
On 11 May, as the six Portadown loyalists were due to appear in
court charged with murder, a local priest received an anonymous
phone call from someone who claimed one of the four RUC officers
in the landrover that night was an acquantance of one of those
charged with the murder.
The caller maintained the RUC patrol had been deployed in the
Woodhouse Street area to protect people coming from St Patrick's
Hall, but all four were sleeping when the attack began. The RUC
awoke when two women with Robert Hamill ran to the landrover
calling for help.
However the RUC refused to intervene and allowed the attack to go
ahead. The RUC issued misleading statements in the hours after
the attack claiming that their officers were outnumbered as rival
gangs clashed. As the truth emerged they finally acknowledged,
ten days after the incident, that Robert Hamill and his friends
were assaulted by a loyalist mob.
Phoblacht has subsequently learnt that the four RUC members in
question have been on paid leave, said to be sick leave, since
the incident.
At a press conference on Garvaghy Road on Tuesday 4 November,
members of the Hamill family, including their mother Jessy,
appealed for ``political and public support in pursuing a private
prosecution against those involved including members of the RUC''.
Also present at the press conference were Fathers Joe McVeigh and
Raymond Murray both of whom are involved in the defence of human
rights in the North.
During what was an emotional press conference Diane Hamill said
that her family had lost all faith in the RUC and judicial system
which was why they had decided to take a private prosecution.
``We believe the other three will also be released'', stated Ms
Hamill.
In their pursuit for justice the Hamills have raised 20,000
signatures on a petition which they hope to give to Direct Ruler
Marjorie Mowlam when they meet her later this month.
In a statement Sinn Fein councillors John O'Dowd and Francie
Murray, supporting calls for an independent inquiry said, ``given
the circumstances and role of the RUC an independent inquiry into
the murder is the only satisfactory and acceptable course of
action''.
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