THE family of Mr Robert Hamill, who died last week after he was savagely beaten by loyalists in Portadown, Co Armagh, has called for an independent inquiry into his murder and for the RUC officers who witnessed the attack to be suspended.
His sister, Ms Diane Hamill, said the family was "disgusted" with the police's handling of the situation. It is intending to sue the RUC.
The RUC has said the Independent Commission for Police Complaints would oversee the investigation. However, the family said this was "not enough" and asked what was the point in the RUC investigating itself.
The family is demanding an inquiry separate from the police inquiry, headed by a judge or another impartial person.
"What we want is a separate body set up, totally independent of the police, to investigate what happened to Robert and how the RUC were involved, or did not get involved, in what happened to my brother," she said.
"We would like the whole incident explored through the Anglo-Irish Secretariat," Ms Hamill added. It is understood the issue will be brought up in the Dail this week by the Fianna Fail TD, Mr Eamon O Cuiv.
Ms Hamill called for the RUC witnesses to be suspended. She said: "People that are not impartial and allow my brother to be kicked to death, they cannot be allowed to roam the streets."
She criticised remarks by some politicians particularly the Strangford MP Mr John Taylor who, she said, had tried to link Robert's death with the murder of a policeman in Belfast.
"That devastated our family over the weekend and made our grief ten times worse," Ms Hamill said.
Ms Hamill said the family had been visited by many Protestants. However, she said the local MP, Ulster Unionist Mr David Trimble, did not visit the family. "He should have come and paid his respects to my brother."
Ms Hamill also criticised statements issued by police at the time of the beating, the first of which said Robert and his three companions were in a gang. "I want to know why they made that initial statement," she said, adding that they had later changed their statements later pointing out that they had been attacked by a gang.
Ms Hamill also called on Craigavon Council to stop traders in one of its market buildings selling T-shirt, with the slogan "Yabadaba Do, Any Fenian Will Do".
Mr Paul Mageehan, of the Committee on the Administration of Justice, said yesterday that the allegations in the case of Mr Hamill were "extremely disturbing" and it had been investigating other incidents where observers were "unclear" why the police chose whether or not to intervene.