AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL - PRESS RELEASE - United Kingdom
Publish Cory reports now, human rights groups urge
government
Public Document
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AI Index: EUR 45/031/2003 (Public)
News Service No: 287
18 December 2003
Five leading human rights organisations today called upon the British
government to publish without delay the reports by Judge Peter Cory, a
retired Canadian Supreme Court Judge, into the deaths of Patrick Finucane,
Robert Hamill, Billy Wright and Rosemary Nelson.
A spokesperson for the groups (Amnesty International, British Irish Rights
Watch, the Committee on the Administration of Justice, Human Rights Watch
and the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights) said that "the government has
now had the reports for more than two months. We believe there is no basis
for any further delay in making the reports public."
The groups expressed concern that the delay was causing distress to the
families concerned, and that it also continued to undermine public
confidence in the rule of law.
"The reason Judge Cory was appointed was because the government
acknowledged there was public concern about these cases of alleged official
collusion. The delay in publication is now increasing that concern," the
spokesperson added.
Paul Mageean from CAJ said "We believe that the UK government is obliged
under domestic and international law to immediately establish full public
international judicial inquiries into the cases of Patrick Finucane, Robert
Hamill, Billy Wright and Rosemary Nelson. Continuing delay will only result
in a greater erosion of public confidence in the rule of law and may result
in the loss of further important testimonies."
Background
Justice Peter Cory was appointed by the UK and Irish governments in May 2002
to investigate a number of cases including the killings of human rights
lawyers Patrick Finucane and Rosemary Nelson, in 1989 and 1999,
respectively; the 1997 sectarian killing of Robert Hamill, a 25-year-old
Catholic man; and the 1997 killing of Billy Wright, a leading Loyalist
paramilitary, shot dead in the Maze prison.