European Court slams British government
BY CAÍTLIN DOHERTY
Once again, the British government has come under the spotlight
of the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg and once
again its human rights practises have been slammed.
On Tuesday, 6 June, the Court gave its ruling on two cases
brought forward by two former republican POWs, Gerard Magee and
Liam Averill.
In the case of Gerard Magee, the Court found the British
government in unequivocal breach of one of the most important
articles of the European Convention on Human Rights.
It ruled that the County Antrim man was denied a fair trial
because he was refused access to a solicitor during the
interviews that led to his conviction. The British government was
ordered to pay £10,000 in legal costs and expenses.
Gerard Magee was arrested in December 1988 and detained in
Castlereagh over two days without access to a solicitor. The only
so-called evidence used by a Diplock court in 1991 to convict
Magee was his own statement. The statement was beaten out of him
during the 48-hour period during which he was denied access to
legal advice.
He then appealed his conviction, but this was dismissed by the
Six-County Court of Appeal in 1994. He subsequently lodged an
application with the European Court of Human Rights but served
the majority of his ten-year sentence.
A solicitor acting for Magee said: "This decision, taken in
conjunction with the European Court's decision in the case of
Murray, raises the prospect that any conviction over the last 12
years based on confessions obtained in Castlereagh or Gough
Barracks in the absence of a solicitor will be open to challenge
on the basis that they are unsafe and in breach of the right to a
fair trial."
In the case of Liam Averill, the court ruled that his basic human
rights had also been violated because he too had been refused
access to a solicitor during the first 24 hours of questioning.
Both cases are a further indictment of British government
practises and highlight the need for a total overhaul of the
policing and so-called justice system in the Six Counties.
Patricia Coyle, Solicitor of Madden & Finucane, Solicitors,
acting for Mr Magee stated on Tuesday, 6 June: "This decision,
taken in conjunction with the European Court's decision in the
case of Murray, raises the prospect that any conviction over the
last 12 years based on confessions obtained in Castlereagh or
Gough Barracks in the absence of a solicitor will be open to
challenge on the basis that they are unsafe and in breach of the
right to a fair trial."
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