AMNESTY
INTERNATIONAL
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UK: Inquiry needed into Stobie murder
AI Index: EUR 45/026/2000
Publish date: 12/12/2001
Amnesty International was seriously disturbed by the news that William Stobie
was murdered this morning in North Belfast by armed gunmen. The Red Hand
Defenders have claimed responsibility for the shooting.
"William Stobie's murder reinforces the need for the government to initiate immediately a full, independent and public inquiry into allegations of official collusion into the murder of Patrick Finucane," Amnesty International said. Patrick Finucane was a human rights lawyer, who was shot dead by the Ulster Defence Association (UDA, a Loyalist paramilitary group) in February 1989.
Charges against William Stobie --
of aiding and abetting in the murder of Patrick Finucane -- were dropped on 26
November, just two weeks ago. William Stobie had been a quartermaster of the UDA
and an agent of Special Branch (police intelligence) during the time that
Patrick Finucane was killed. He claimed that prior to the killing of Patrick
Finucane, he had warned his Special Branch handlers that someone was about to be
killed, and that he had
provided enough details to possibly prevent the killing and to arrest people who
still possessed the weapons after the killing. He claimed that the police had
failed to act on this information. No charges were brought against him until
1999 when Sir John Stevens was requested by the Chief Constable of the Royal
Ulster Constabulary to return to Northern Ireland and investigate allegations of
collusion in the murder of Patrick Finucane.
William Stobie was a key witness
concerning allegations of official police collusion in the murder of Patrick
Finucane. His claims that Special Branch may have been able to prevent the
killing and of their failure to arrest the
perpetrators, have never been tested in court. The involvement of Special Branch
in allegedly obstructing the investigation into the killing of Patrick Finucane
was raised again recently by an RUC officer, who claimed that one of the people
who had shot Patrick Finucane had confessed on tape in 1991, in the presence of
a Special Branch officer. He claimed that Special Branch blocked further
investigation of the confession or any prosecution. It was alleged that the
Special Branch officer was also William Stobie's handler.
"Given the allegations of
Special Branch involvement in the killing of Patrick Finucane, the government
should initiate a thorough, genuinely independent and impartial investigation
into the killing of William Stobie," Amnesty International said.
public document
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