Duffy case shows ``rotten system''
By Mick Naughton.
The latest injustice against Lurgan republican Collie Duffy ended
last Friday 3 October when he was freed from murder charges for
the second time in 13 months after a crown lawyer was forced to
concede ``there was no reasonable prospect of a conviction''.
The only evidence against Duffy was the alleged eyewitness
evidence of a psychologically unstable woman, Witness D, who was
pressurised by the RUC into identifying Duffy.
Despite 12 alibi witnesses contradicting Witness D, and a member
of her own family describing her as unreliable the RUC persisted
in their case against Duffy for four months.
To date Duffy has spent over four years in jail despite being
innocent of any charges.
After his release Colin Duffy said, ``Obviously I am delighted at
being released. However, it is an indictment of the system as a
whole from the RUC right through to the courts. Until this system
is changed there isn't going to be any justice in this part of
the country.''
Duffy was full of praise for his laywer, Rosemary Nelson. She has
confirmed she has now been instructed to begin civil action over
the case given the ``gravest concern it has caused in legal
circles, amongst international civil rights bodies and public
representatives.''
The latest episode in the Duffy saga was described by Sinn Féin
Northern chair, Gearoid O hEara as further evidence of a ``rotten
corrupt little system''.
He said: ``The case goes to the heart of the problem here. The law
is manipulated by the RUC to suit their ends and the judiciary
assist them. It is now time to scrap the Diplock system''.
In 1990 when in as blatant an act of collusion ever seen between
the RUC and loyalists Duffy's friend and fellow republican, Sam
Marshall was gunned down after signing a bail bond in Lurgan RUC
barracks. Duffy narrowly escaped death.
After that Duffy was convicted of killing a UDR soldier, largely
on the `evidence' of Lindsay Robb, himself later convicted of
running weapons for the UVF. Robb gave his evidence from behind a
screen.
Meanwhile Duffy has told An Phoblacht that last Saturday night,
a day after his release, he and a freind were stopped by the RUC
in the Kilwilkie estate near his home and held while they checked
him out.
``I was in the estate when the RUC drove past us. They shone a
flashlight on us and when they recognised me they turned and come
back. They took our details and radioed them in. Obviously it was
harrassment,'' Duffy said.
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