BELFAST, December 3 (Sputnik), Mark Hirst — Fourteen Irish men, who were allegedly tortured by the British Army in 1971, want the British Government to formally apologize, Jim Mcllmurray of the Hooded Men Campaign told Sputnik Wednesday.
"If the British Government had just said 'yes, we did torture you' and then apologised, then that would be enough. None of the men are looking for retribution," Mcllmurray, Chairman and spokesperson for the Hooded Men Campaign, said.
According to Mcllmurray, the men who were allegedly tortured "are still feeling the impact of this torture," while some of the men still face psychological problems, such as nightmares and flashbacks.
Mcllmurray believes the fresh appeal by the Irish Government to have the European Court look again at its 1978 judgment will never reach Strasbourg. In 1978 the court found that 14 men had suffered "inhumane and degrading treatment" at the hands of the British, but were not submitted to torture.
On Tuesday the Irish Government confirmed it will formally request the European Court to revise its 1978 judgment after the Irish state broadcaster RTE announced in June it has uncovered new evidence in this case. It is based on documents the filmmakers obtained from British archives, and reveals that UK Ministers withheld information from the European Court about the extent of the interrogation process the men went through.
The member of the Irish republican party Sinn Fein and Member of the European Parliament Martina Anderson said she welcomed the decision by the Irish Government to request the revision of the judgment.
"As part of my work to expose Britain's failure to comply with human rights obligations I met with the Human Rights Commissioner in Strasbourg to discuss the 'hooded men' case. That engagement led to Commissioner Nils Muiznieks coming to Belfast and publicly calling on the British government to live up to its responsibilities on the past," Anderson said.
Nevertheless, it is likely those responsibilities will not extend to charges being brought against those members of the British Government still alive, like former Defence Secretary Lord Carrington, who as lawyers for the victims claim approved the alleged torture of the detainees.
"We don't think it would be necessary to bring a prosecution against the British Ministers who are still alive who made the decision to torture these men. I have spoken to all of the men individually last night and we have talked about this," Mcllmurray stated adding that the men just wanted the minister "to admit he was wrong."
Lord Carrington, the former UK Defence Minister at the time of the torture allegations, declined to be interviewed about his involvement in the case but in a statement a spokeswoman for the British Government said, "These events took place many years ago. This government adopted a Strategy for the Prevention of Torture in 2011 and this remains one of our global human rights priorities."
The 14 men arrested during "Internment" in 1971 were hooded and taken to a British Army base where they claim they were subjected to beatings, sleep, food and water deprivation, as well as kept in stress positions over prolonged periods. The victims later became known as the Hooded Men. None of the men, the youngest was just 17-years-old, were ever charged with any offense.
