‘Hooded Men’ case will not damage relations with Britain

Minister for Justice Frances Fitzgerald has insisted the reopening of the "Hooded Men" case in Strasbourg will not damage relations between Ireland and Britain.

Ms Fitzgerald said the Government was right to ask the European Court of Human Rights to revise its judgment in a landmark case taken by the State over alleged torture by British forces in Northern Ireland in the 1970s.

“This was a very serious decision that the Government took. It’s the right decision. In terms of the relationship between Britain and ourselves I believe it’s very robust,” Ms Fitzgerald said.

“Clearly we felt that that decision should be taken, but I would be confident in terms of the relationship between our two countries that will continue to grow and strengthen and I don’t see this as a factor that would destabilise in any way the relationship between the two countries.”

She was speaking at a Missing Persons event in Farmleigh House in Dublin.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Charlie Flanagan confirmed his intention to raise the issue with Northern Secretary Theresa Villiers. The pair are attending all- party talks in Belfast which are expected to conclude on Thursday.

In the aftermath of the Government’s move on Tuesday, a Northern Ireland Office (NIO) spokesman said the British Government was considering the implications of the decision to refer the case to the European Court of Human Rights.

“When the case was heard back in the 70s, the UK Government did not seek to justify treatment experienced by the individuals commonly referred to as ‘the hooded men,” the spokesman 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.

“Whatever the outcome of this litigation, there remains a pressing need for an agreed way forward on Northern Ireland’s troubled past, which addresses the needs of victims and survivors.”

Speaking to RTÉ Radio One’s Morning Ireland programme, Mr Flanagan said: “Contact was made at official level yesterday afternoon. I did speak to the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland two weeks ago. I’m travelling to Belfast this morning. This is an issue I intend discussing with Secretary of State Theresa Villiers before lunchtime today.”

In the case, the first ever taken by one State against another at the human rights court, Ireland alleged the UK had breached the European Convention on Human Rights by the torture and ill-treatment of the 14 interned men by members of the British army and the Royal Ulster Constabulary.

The Strasbourg court's refusal in 1978 to classify as torture the treatment of the 14 "Hooded Men" was cited by lawyers advising former US president George W Bush to allow "an aggressive interpretation as to what amounts to torture" in Afghanistan, Iraq and Guantánamo Bay.

The Government’s decision was prompted by revelations in an RTÉ documentary that British authorities withheld crucial information from the court in the original hearing.