MORE THAN forty Irish nationalists in Belfast are being framed in a case related to the kiling of two British soldiers at a Republican funeral in 1988.
Five men rectved life sentences for abetting murder. The point here is that none of the accused were invoived in actually kiling the soldiers; pretation of the legal doctrine of common purpose, hitherto uninown to UK law, and only previously seen in The background to all this lies in a series of extraordinary events which profoundiy affected the nabonalist communities in the north of Ireland during March 1988. The January 16, 1993 No. 35 when three unarmed Republicans, including Mairead Farrell, were shot Seed by the SAS in Gibraltar. The anger at the shootings was shown by the huge turnout at their funeral held at Belfast's Mitown Cemetery At this point the Loyalist Michael Stone launched a murderous hand grenade and gun assault on the mourners. Three men were shot dead; more than 30 were injured.
Victims
Some days later the funeral took place of Kevin Brady, one of Stone's Catholic had been murdered by the UDA in a mood of high tension. A car drove The cortege therefore started off Now illegal? Republican fneral into the funeral at high spood; as frightened mourners surrounded the vehicle its two occupants produced revolvers and a shot was discharged. Everone in the crowd beleed -understandably - that they were once again under attack, and responded accordingly.
À courageous group of mourners, all unarmed, advanced and disarmed the two men. The car was searched nearby Casement Park - where 3 was discovered that they were Britch soldiers.
Sometime later an IRA active sercustody, and shot them. The members of this unit have never been identified or arrested, but many others have.
The burden of the state's case against the accused is that they had a 'common purpose with those who actually carried out the killings This is particularly absurd when three of those currently serving ife sentences aiding and abetting murder, Pat Kane, Michael Timmons and Sean Keily, were not even present ai Casement Park, are could not possibly share a common purpose wih an hA ut whose erst ince they were not even aware of the acoused, the crime they were truly quilty of was attending a Repubican funeral and having the audacity to defend themseives Two soldiers were killed, and the state is looking for vengeance. It has never been explained what the two out-of-uniform soldiers were doing. and why there were no soldiers or RUC men present at the scene unti well after the incident was over.
Other serious doubts about the state's behaviour over these trials Identification of delendants repends very largely on poor quality video film shot from an army helicopter some feet above the confused and tumultuous events in the narrow streets of Beifast The right of the accused person to silence has also been effectively removed. in the case of Sean Kelly, referred to his refusal to testify as grounds for inferring guilt.
These mailers and others are being raised by the justice for the Casement Park Accused Campaign, cio Green ink Bookshop, 8 Archway Mall, London N19 5RG.