My mind could not conceive it. I was living in the twentieth century – the year AD 1951. Surely these men could never bring themselves to torture me in cold blood. Looking around their faces I saw neither passion nor compassion in any of them.
Two of my ribs were cracked from kicks; my head, shoulders and thighs were sore and bruised; my back was covered with cigarette burns, which smarted at the slightest touch from my filthy clothes.
The story that these men had to tell appalled us.... Captain Walters had been compelled to stand to attention for over 40 hours before he collapsed...
– Extracts from The Edge of the Sword by Major FarrarHockley. He was writing of his experiences in Korea in 1951, not on the Falls Road, where he served in 1971.
TORTURE and brutality are emotive words. They are words used frequently by propagandists. Nonetheless, in the Northern Ireland context, in the year 1971 – 1972, they are more honest words than the emasculated semantics of Sir Edmund Compton or the bland lies of Brian Faulkner and General Tuzo. For the simple fact is that brutality by the British army became so usual as to be commonplace, while torture was systematically – and generally inefficiently – carried out by both army intelligence and the RUC Special Branch on an increasing scale.
Britain has a record of torture in Aden, Cyprus and Kenya. Her policy, with the possible exception of Kenya, may not have been as brutal and widespread as that of the French in Algeria or the Americans in Vietnam. There seems to have been no general torture plan emanating from Whitehall, rather it was the work of a handful of soldiers – the name of one soldier crops up in both Cyprus and Aden, for example – who, nonetheless, were acting with official blessing; but torture was undoubtedly carried out. In 1957,49 specified cases of torture by British troops in Cyprus were alleged against Britain at the Council of Europe. It took a hurried conference at Zurich for the cases to be dropped.[1]
Peter Benenson of Amnesty International has written of the torture (which was common knowledge throughout Cyprus) but, as usual, officialdom did nothing – apart from cashiering a captain in the Intelligence Corps and an acting captain in the Gordon Highlanders.[2]
In Aden, in the summer of 1966, following Amnesty reports by Dr. Salahaddin Rastgeldi, a Swede, about torture at the Fort Morbut interrogation centre, the British Government reluctantly set up its own inquiry,[3] under the then Deputy Speaker in the House of Commons, Roderic Bowen QC. The report, however, was a pathetic whitewash which satisfied no one – the Special Branch investigator did not examine the complainant's medical records, and, though eventually three of the torturers were identified, on the orders of the Director of Intelligence nothing was done.[4]
The main list of allegations against the 'intelligence service interrogators' in Cyprus and Aden – bears a certain similarity with subsequent events in Northern Ireland, but before coming to what actually went on in the compounds at Palace barracks, Holywood, and at Girdwood Park, Belfast, it is worth pointing out why the tortures occurred. Cyril Cunningham, a former Ministry of Defence authority on brain-washing techniques, was very revealing when he gave a lecture on 'The Intelligence Service and the Law' at the ICA in London in May 1972.
"What we saw in Northern Ireland was a bunch of roughs – who shall be nameless[5] – belonging to field interrogation teams sent out as scouts. People have the idea you can make an interrogator overnight. You can't.... Violence in interrogation occurs when the agency has failed to create an 'intelligence environment' where good public relations do not exist because the public is hostile and where overt and covert sources of intelligence are not available. If it is deprived of these it often resorts to what we interrogators call "spontaneous overt verbal examination" – i.e., "if you don't tell us, we will beat it out of you." Cunningham went on to say that "it seems the intelligence services in Ulster were run into the ground and were scraped together at the last minute to cope with the situation: it is the same wherever we have pulled out."[6]
The British army's 'expert' on counter insurgency was Brigadier Frank Kitson,[7] whose ill-written and indiscreet (from an army point of view) book, Low Intensity Operations, was obligatory reading. The main interrogation centres were at Palace barracks, Holywood, five miles from Belfast, and at Girdwood Park camp which adjoins Crumlin jail.
Palace barracks was the HQ of the 1st Parachute Regiment who were serving a two-year term of duty in Northern Ireland. Also based there were members of the shadowy 22nd Special Air Service Regiment. Major A.H. Watchus, who had been associated with the Joint Services Intelligence Centre at Ashford in Kent, was their CO. The torture compound consisted of four huts surrounded by a corrugated iron perimeter wall. It was located well to the rear of the camp and could not be seen from the road. It was officially called an RUC reception centre, and while soldiers guarded the barracks as a whole, the compound was protected by members of the RUC Special Patrol Group (Number 7 section code named 'Silver' and based at Musgrave St. barracks). It was their inefficiency which allowed young Brendan Dunlop to escape on 8 January. Nor were the Paras able to prevent one of their own number from setting off three bombs in the barracks on 27 January before he deserted.[8] Nonetheless, security was pretty strict.
Most of the physical brutality was inflicted by ordinary soldiers during search and arrest operations. Many of them were young and inexperienced. Many were confused and frightened. Their own living conditions were poor. Constant patrolling in a hostile environment, waiting for an urban guerilla to take a pot shot at you or for a claymore mine to go off, is an unpleasant task. Nevertheless, the behaviour of many soldiers cannot be excused. A large number of the men arrested had served with the British army during the war and refused to believe that the behaviour of the troops in Belfast in August 1971 was normal. It is a convenient myth fostered by the British that "our soldiers" just like "our policemen" are "the best in the world": bright, keen, alert, courageous – yet courteous young men, who could bear no relation to the brutal and at times drunken or Mandrexed louts described by the frightened inhabitants of Belfast. But, alas, it is only a myth. The British soldier is no better nor no worse than the American, Russian or French soldier. He will blindly obey orders (although it is true to say that desertions increased and recruitment fell after soldiers had seen what was happening in Belfast) and he will, in many cases, resort to sadism and violence.
No account of arrest, detention and interrogation in Northern Ireland from August 1971 to April 1973 could be completed without the assistance of the Association for Legal Justice. A non-political body, its members worked tirelessly to expose the brutality and torture, interviewing virtually all the detainees, compiling reports of intimidation and publishing them daily. It was through their efforts that the English press, and the Sunday Times in particular, eventually had to admit that there was a nasty smell emanating from army HQ in Northern Ireland. And all the air fresheners of Sir Edmund Compton couldn't mask it.
The torture falls into four phases. Firstly, 9-11 August 1971, the brutality inflicted upon those arrested in the initial internment swoop and held at Ballykinlar, Magilligan and Girdwood barracks. At Girdwood barracks the brutality was generally unorganized. Most of it was the work of the arresting soldiers who panicked in their haste to get men out of hostile areas at 4.00 a.m. Fathers were arrested in mistake for sons, nephews for uncles, and so on. Severe beatings were administered as men were dragged along the streets in their pyjamas, to the accompaniment of rattling bin-lids. In certain cases the troops could excuse themselves on the grounds that suspects 'resisted arrest', though the Sunday Times and BBC TV '24 Hours' were to highlight a number of particularly scandalous cases, such as those of James Magilton (60) and John Murphy (61), both of Clowney Street. These two men, who were in bad health, were beaten savagely. They were released within 48 hours. It had been 'a mistake'. Nor can the stubbing out of cigarettes on Eamoun Kerr's neck by soldiers under Major Lloyd's[8A] command, outside Mulhouse Street barracks, be forgiven.
But the brutality at Girdwood barracks was of a different order. Men against whom no charge had been made were held in custody there by armed military policemen, most of whom took turns at beating, threatening and sadistically maltreating many of their prisoners. It was there that the infamous 'helicopter treatment' was given, and that barefoot prisoners were forced to run over broken glass.
At Ballykinlar and Magilligan the treatment was even worse. What Compton called 'positions of discomfort' amounted, in fact, to torture, the Armagh County Court decided six months later. Judge Conaghan declared that, clearly, several army officers had been guilty of telling lies to the enquiry (the officers in question were Lieutenant Barton, Sergeant Smith and Corporal Robert Graham) and he awarded William John Moore of Portadown £300 damages on 18 February 1972. Also, Captain D. David Plant was severely criticised by Judge Conaghan. Subsequently, agreed damages of £3,900 were awarded to 16 internees and former internees from Armagh for the treatment meted out to them by the security forces. (See also chapter on Compton Report).
The second phase of the torture concerned eleven men[9] during the period 11-17 August 1971. These men were firstly detained on detention orders signed personally by Brian Faulkner and later removed on removal orders also signed personally by Faulkner. They were secretly taken away and held totally incommunicado for a week. They were hooded, spreadeagled against a wall for days, subjected to the 'noise machine', deprived of sleep, food, drink and toilet facilities, and in addition were badly beaten. Part of a description of the torture, by Paddy Joe McClean (39), a remedial teacher, follows. McClean was not a member of any section of the IRA; he was merely a local civil rights worker. He was arrested and taken from his home in Beragh, Co. Tyrone, at 5 a.m. on Monday 9 August 1971. He is married and has eight children. McClean stated:
I spent the first 48-hour period with the other detainees at Magilligan camp. At the end of these initial 48 hours a hood was pulled over my head and I was handcuffed and subjected to verbal and personal abuse which included the threat of being dropped from a helicopter while it was in the air. I was then dragged out to the helicopter, being kicked and struck about the body with batons on the way.
After what seemed about one hour in the helicopter I was thrown from it and kicked and batoned into what I took to be a lorry. The lorry was driven only a couple of hundred yards to a building. On arriving there I was given a thorough examination by a doctor. After this, all my clothes were taken from me and I was given a boiler suit to wear which had no buttons and which was several sizes too big for me.
During this time the hood was still over my head and the handcuffs were removed only at the time of the 'medical examination'.
I was then taken into what I can only guess was another room and was made stand with my feet wide apart with my hands pressed against a wall. During all this time I could hear a low droning noise, which sounded to me like an electric saw or something of that nature. This continued for what I can only describe as an indefinite period of time. I stood there, arms against the wall, feet wide apart. My arms, legs, back and head began to ache. I perspired freely, the noise and the heat were terrible.
My circulation had stopped. I flexed my arms to start the blood flowing again. They struck me several times on the hands ribs, kidneys and my kneecaps were kicked. My hood-covered head was banged against the wall.
[It is thought that this method of torture lasted for two whole days and nights.] McClean continued:
During this time certain periods are blank – fatigue, mental and physical, overwhelmed me; I collapsed several times only to be beaten and pulled to my feet again and once more pushed. spreadeagled against the wall. Food, water, the opportunity to relieve my bowels were denied me. I had to urinate and defecate in my suit. I collapsed again.
I came to in what I believed to be Crumlin Road jail, having been pushed into a chair. The hood was removed and I was handed what I was told was a detention form. I was told to read it. My eyes burnt and were filled with pain; they would not focus and I couldn't read the form.... The hood was pulled over my bursting head. I was roughly jerked to my feet and half pulled, half kicked and beaten for about 400 yards. This was the worst and most sustained beating to date. Fists, boots, and batons crashed into my numbed body, someone else's not mine. Hands behind my back, handcuffs biting into my wrists. Pain! Someone was pulling and jerking my arms. Thrown headlong into a vehicle – soft seats, beating continued, boots, batons, fists. Then the noise, that dreaded helicopter again. Dragged out of the vehicle by the hair, thrown onto the floor of the helicopter. Blacked out!
When he regained consciousness he was again spread against a wall and examined by a doctor. Then followed an interrogation which was carried out against a background of bright blazing lights. His statement continued:
I was told I would be given half an hour to rest and think. Then I would be asked more questions and if I didn't answer them I would be taken back to the 'music room' – the room with the noise.
Feet wide apart, hands handcuffed – against the wall. Droning noise filled my head. By this time I could feel no pain. Just numb. Dragged away from the wall, legs buckled under me,' fell to the floor. Dragged by the ankles up and down shallow steps. Didn't care – past feeling pain. Didn't have a body.
From now on it was interrogation – back to the 'music room' – some sleep. Then the first taste of water in – how many days? Some dry bread and more water.
We were given our first 'meal'. This consisted of a cup of watery stew which I had to eat using my fingers as utensils. The hood was lifted just enough to leave mouth free. We were allowed then to the toilet for the first time since we arrived.
Punishment now eased off. Interrogation continued. Strict questioning – no beatings – just threats and personal insults. Food of a more substantial nature still badly cooked and served, but at least it was regular.
The hood was taken off and I was allowed to wash....
The hood had remained over his head for six full days except for the brief period when he was served his detention orders, and on one other occasion when the hood slipped off accidentally.
.... Now I was allowed to sleep, but the room was so cold that sleep was hard to come by. The fear of more beatings was still with me. I was terribly alone! They gave me one blanket – to keep me warm, they said.
I was then told it was 'all over', and that I was to be interned in Crumlin Road jail. I didn't believe them – another trick. I thought. Still uneasy, still worried – still alone.
Hood still over my head, but treated better now, no questions, no beating. Journey to Crumlin Road jail by lorry, helicopter and Land Rover. I was still alive – still sane, thank God!
McLean was also strung up on a coat hook by handcuffs. His wrists still bear the scars.
The purpose of hooding was to cause sensory deprivation. Dr. Anthony Starr, a psychiatrist, explained:[10]
The normal brain depends for its proper functioning upon a continuous stream of information reaching it from the external world. Deprive it of this sensory input, and it begins to function abnormally. In addition to preventing subjects from solving problems, experiments show that continuous hooding increases suggestibility by as much as eight hundred per cent. A high proportion of victims suffer from hallucinations. In experiments with volunteers, one in five cracked up within forty hours.
The noise machines were designed to restrict the men's auditory experience to one loud, monotonous, unpleasant noise. Starving the men meant also that their brains would not receive the necessary sugar, thus increasing irritability and suggestiveness. Being forced to stand upright for hours against a wall (43½ hours in the case of Archie Auld) also impairs the blood supply to the brain. Sensory deprivation is frightening enough for volunteers; to innocent men, dragged from their beds and subjected to it for days it was terrifying. Most lost over a stone in weight. Two were mentally affected for months afterwards. It took an exceptionally courageous man like McClean to withstand it.
The publicity given these cases was such that the Government eventually had to prohibit the use of hooding and noise machines, but Her Majesty's men in Palace barracks were not too worried. Rules could always be bent.
The next phase of the brutality and torture has been listed by Fr. Denis Faul as being from 23 August to 10 December 1971, when interrogation with brutality and a variety of bizarre tortures took place at Palace barracks on men who were subsequently either released or detained on HMS Maidstone or in Crumlin Road jail. Most of the examples of brutality which follow came either from personal interviews or the Association for Legal Justice. In addition, two English Social Scientists, Eric Preston and Danny Kennally of the Independent Labour Party, published a booklet[11] detailing many examples of ill-treatment.
Even though Government announcements stated that the brutality (or 'ill-treatment') was to stop, it was, in fact, to become intensified. By November the conservative Sunday Times[12] had to admit that torture was still going on when they reported the case of nine men who had been held in Palace barracks for up to 48 hours and then released.
Independent and respectable doctors had examined them and found the clear marks of maltreatment. Thus, Patrick O'Neill, arrested on 2 November, was so badly beaten at Girdwood barracks that he was unable to return to work for three months. J. P. Lane, a surgeon at the Mater Hospital and a former officer of the Royal Army Medical Corps, testified that O'Neill's left heel was fractured and that the soles of his feet bore the marks of some form of bastinado (a carpet rod). P. L. O'Neill, arrested on 13 November and examined in Crumlin Road jail five days later by Dr. Conor Gilligan, had extensive bruising to the "face, chest, abdomen, lumbar areas, groin, thighs, hands." The extent of the bruising on the abdomen on Patrick McGee, Gerard Maxwell, James Quinn, Thomas Sinclair, Seamus Lynch, John Watson and Michael Nelson was given by other doctors.[13] In addition to severe bruising, Nelson had "a traumatic perforation of the ear drum."
Dr. J. P. Lane and these other doctors were, unfortunately, in a small minority in their profession. All their protests to official channels were relentlessly blocked. The General Medical Council refused to comment on the behaviour of army doctors at the interrogation centres. Likewise, the British Army Medical Authorities refused to comment or to act. Consequently, many doctors were involved in torture-centre activities, either actively or passively. Their first function was to ascertain whether men were 'robust' enough to stand up to 'interrogations. In some cases men with weak hearts were set aside. Doctors were often called in to examine men lying on the floor in agony; then, after 48 hours, they had to certify that men were 'fit to travel'.
The International Code of Medical Ethics, adopted by the 3rd General Assembly of the World Medical Association, held in London in October 1949, lays down that "under no circumstances is a doctor permitted to do anything that would weaken the physical or mental resistance of a human being." The declaration of Geneva in 1948 was even stronger. "Even under threat I will not use my medical knowledge contrary to the Laws of Humanity." Those doctors who witnessed the beating, the electric shock treatment, the administration of hallucinogenic drugs, sensory deprivation, starvation and enforced sleeplessness have much for which to answer. Certainly they have not lived up to their Hippocratic Oath.
By November 1971 authenticated reports of electric-shock treatment were coming out of the interrogation centres and were common knowledge. But it was not until 5 March 1972 that any English newspaper was prepared to print the truth. Again, it was The Sunday Times. It reported that Patrick Fitzsimmons and William Joseph Johnston had been subjected to electric-shock treatment at Girdwood barracks on 14 and 24 January. These men were only the tip of the iceberg, however; from October over 20 men had been subjected to this form of interrogation.
Moreover, from November drugs were used on some men to obtain information. On 5 December the CRA identified two types of drugs being used on selected men. In one category the drugs were Imipramine, Desipramine, Antitryptaline, Nialomide, Isocarboxid and Tanylcypromine, all of which cause dizziness, sweating, muscle tremors and hallucinations. In the other category, the CRA allege that Monomine Oxidase was used to make the victims feel elated and garrulous. Several released detainees experienced sensations similar to hallucinations under LSD. But, finally in May, came medical evidence. Tom Kearns from Newry was arrested that month and taken to Newry police station. For 48 hours he was questioned by Special Branch officers and fed cups of tea. He soon began to feel very unwell and to experience strange sensations. After 48 hours he was released and went to see a local solicitor who got him to give a urine specimen which was sent to the City Hospital in Belfast for analysis. It contained enough Amphetamine to indicate that he had been given a considerable dosage.
One of the most disturbing aspects of this case to minority representatives was that it occurred well after the Whitelaw 'takeover'. Although Whitelaw did not sign any internment orders, in the first month of his take-over more than 20 men were detained – indefinitely. Moreover, although Whitelaw may have ordered a cessation of the brutality, it continued unabated. A particularly bad case was that of Edward Duffy (17), Gerard Bradley and Gerald Donnelly (29), all of Belfast. They were arrested on 20 April, taken to the local military barracks and given a savage beating – particularly around the testicles. After 20 hours the SB men and soldiers responsible panicked and rushed them to Armagh prison. The MO there, however, took one look at their condition and refused to accept them, for fear that at least one of them might die in his custody. They were hurriedly transferred to the military wing of Musgrave hospital. Duffy was unable to appear in court with the others two days later. The others collapsed. The RM expressed horror at their appearance. After five weeks Duffy was still not fit to appear in court. All charges against them were dropped and they were released. However, since it was announced that their cases were to be heard at the European Court of Human Rights in September 1972, they were subjected to heavy army harassment.[14]
But this case, while horrific, was only typical. By April 1972 even the Ulster judiciary, notoriously one of the most reactionary bodies in the province[15] had begun to throw Crown cases out of court when the only 'evidence' was alleged 'confessions' by battered prisoners. From January, at least six major cases, ranging from causing explosions to shooting soldiers, were thrown out of court because the 'confessions' were clearly the result of torture. As the accused left the court, as 'free men', they were, however ceremonially arrested and detained under the Special Powers Acts.[16]
Army and police often announced 'inquiries' but no report was ever published. Eventually Whitelaw accepted that there must be an inquiry into the treatment meted out to John Carlin of the Waterside in Derry, after John Hume, had taken up his case. As yet, nothing has been announced.
Father Denis Faul and Father Raymond Murray (prison chaplain in Armagh) did extensive investigation into the torture allegations and found conclusively that a wide variety of tortures were used.[17] They list over thirty, including hand squeezing of testicles, "insertion of instruments in the anal passage", injections, electric cattle prod, burning with matches, cigarettes and electric fires, beating with batons on every part of the body. Russian roulette, firing of blanks in prisoner's mouth, urinating on prisoners, deprivation of sleep, food, liquid. In addition, there were the usual threats – to prisoners and their families – bribes offered and confessions alleged. It was standard practice for prisoners in Palace barracks to be forced to stare at a peg-board wall from 18 inches away and monotonously count the number of dots for as long as 12 hours, under a glaring light. When drugs were used in conjunction with this disorientation technique the effects were most frightening.
These are no wild allegations, but carefully documented instances backed by medical evidence. Small wonder that the Ministry of Home Affairs refused to allow a panel of local doctors to examine detainees 24 hours after arrest. Faulkner said that it was 'unnecessary' and "a slur on the security forces." Moreover, it must be stressed, for example, that of the first 2,357 people detained no fewer than 67% of them – 1,600 men – were released after 48 hours, as completely innocent. In most cases they could receive no compensation for their injuries, however, and many psychiatrists were extremely worried about the lasting effect such experiences were bound to have on many men.[18]
It is worth noting that the internment periods of 1938-1945 and 1956-1961 saw virtually no brutality. It was an innovation. General Massu, Commander of the 10th Parachute Division in Algiers, ten years after the bitter civil war there, wrote with pride in Le Figaro, in 1971, of the tortures he had ordered and distinguished between them and the methods used by the Nazis which were bestial "We didn't degrade people with the water torture or the Gégenè" (electrodes run off a car battery and attached to genitals) – though he didn't mention some of the more sexually depraved methods used by his paras on Algerian women.[19] Perhaps ten years from now General Tuzo's memoirs will relate with pride the actions of 'the fine bunch of men' in Palace barracks. Somehow I doubt it. The brutality meted out to innocent men during 1971 and 1972 in Ulster may just go down as another sordid chapter in the History of British Imperialism, but it is unlikely that anyone will brag about it – not even Frank Kitson. (See also important Amnesty Report in Appendix I).
| 1. | The complainant was Greece. After the Colonels' coup in 1967 Greece herself was expelled from the Council, for the use of torture and barbarity. |
| 2. | PETER DEELEY, Beyond Breaking Point, London (Arthur Baker), 1971. |
| 3. | Procedures for the Arrest, Interrogation and Detention of Suspected Terrorists in Aden - Her Majesty's Stationery Office (1966). |
| 4. | PETER DEELEY, Beyond Breaking Point. |
| 5. | Why? It should be remembered that while several Branch men became notorious for their brutality, the really guilty men are the shadowy and anonymous figures who came over from England and set up the 'interrogation centre' at Palace barracks, complete with its noise machines and disorientation equipment. It is they who used the internees as guinea pigs in order to further their 'scientific knowledge' of human resistance to 'stress and strain'. Their discreditable part in this shabby affair cannot be forgotten when scapegoats are eventually made of a few Branch men (on 21 November 1972 it was announced that the Director of Public Prosecutions was to prosecute over 70 members of the security forces for alleged brutality). Meanwhile, many of the more notorious Branch men were given a golden handshake and a plane ticket to the colonies. |
| 6. | The Observer, London, 7 May 1972. |
| 7. | Kitson had a history of counter intelligence in Kenya (where 10,000 suspected Mau Mau were killed and 40,000 interned), Muscat, Oman, Cyprus (where he blotted his copybook), and Malaya. He is acclaimed as the up-and-coming Intelligence expert, though those who do so acclaim him seem to forget that the British have been expelled from all these countries. Whitelaw insisted on his dismissal and he was transferred to Warminster as commandant of the School of Infantry, there to continue his fantasies of stopping the revolution in England from 1975-1980, which he believes is probable. |
| 8. | The man was sickened by the Paras' attitude towards the forthcoming Civil Rights march in Derry on 30 January 1972. Finally, disgusted with his companions' remarks about "getting the Fenian bastards", he collected three bombs, rigged them with timers and placed them around the mess room. He then drove his car out of the barracks and straight to the border. The bombs went off that evening, 27 January 1972. The military authorities refused to reveal details of the damage done. For the full story see This Week, Dublin, 16 March 1972. |
| 8A. | This was not the first time that troops under the command of Major Ian D. Corden Lloyd had been involved in this sort of behaviour. In 1964, while serving with the 10th Princess Mary's Gurkha Rifles in Borneo, he was implicated in an incident involving the torture of a 64-year-old Dayak by two Gurkhas. At their courtmartial, which had happened only because of the probing of a Scottish missionary, they claimed that they had been acting on the orders of their C/O - Ian Corden Lloyd. No further action was taken. The regiment was disbanded in 1968. Lloyd was promoted to lieutenant-colonel in November 1972. (See An Solas, No. 2, October 1972 - Belfast Republican paper). |
| 9. | Archie Auld, Joe Clarke, Kevin Hannaway, Paddy Joe McLean, Sean McKenna, Francis McGuigan, Pat Shivers, Mickey Donnelly, Gerry McKerr, Brian Turley, Patrick McNally. |
| 10. | The Observer, London, 21 November 1971. |
| 11. | A Case to be Answered, London, 1971. Obtainable from the Independent Labour Party (ILP), 197 King's Cross Road, London WC1. Price 30p. |
| 12. | The Sunday Times, London, 28 November 1972. |
| 13. | Drs. Beirne, Breslin, Shearer and Donaghy. |
| 14. | Eventually, two Special Branch officers, George McKinney and William Burrell, along with a private in the Kings Own Borderers, William Craig, were, after three hearings, remanded on nominal bail to appear before the City Commission. The judge had expressed his horror at the account of the injuries related by five doctors. The army doctor said that he had been through Korea and never seen anything like it. Despite this, the two Branch men were apparently still on duty and were seen often about Falls Road. |
| 15. | Anyone doubting this should read some of the sectarian utterances of men like R.M. Walmsley or Judge W.W.B. Topping. For example, Topping, the 'impartial judge': "The Protestant religion has two great enemies. Firstly, the Roman Catholic Church seeks to impose their religion upon Protestants and secondly, Communists try to take religion away from Protestants." Or, "The first duty of the Orange man is to uphold his Unionist Government." For a host of other sectarian quotes see Hansard, 18 May 1971, Vol. 81, Cols. 48-68. |
| 16. | e.g. 19 January 1971, William Close was found not guilty but was interned. Previously, he had been granted bail, but was detained as he left the court. A High Court judge granted his habeas corpus application and remarked that the authorities had shown "scant regard for the liberty of the individual". 1 February 1971, William Kennedy had a ten-year sentence quashed because of the judge's misdirection. From the dock he said: "Is there any justice when the Special Branch will take me as I leave the court?" They did. They took him to Palace barracks for another beating. 16 February 1972, charges on which John Dougan had been remanded for months were dropped. He was interned as he left the court. Even after the advent of Whitelaw the same thing happened to Brian Morgan and Michael Finnegan - on 24 March 1972. P.J. McCashin had been held in custody since 14 December. Charges against him were dropped but he was interned also. For more details see Unfree Citizen, No. 39. 28 April 1972, and previous issues of The Free Citizen. Published weekly by the People's Democracy, Belfast. Copies and subscriptions: Paul Dillon, 50 Newry Road, Armagh, Northern Ireland. |
| 17. | 'British army and RUC Special Branch Brutalities', December 1971-January 1972. |
| 18. | For reference to psychological torture see Calder, The Mind of Man, London (BBC), 1970, pp. 27-41. J. Zubek, 'Prolonged Sensory and Perceptive Deprivation', British Medical Bulletin, 20: pp. 38-42. M. Zuckerman, Perceptual Isolation as Stress Situation, 1964. The ALJ has a full list of reference works. |
| 19. | GISELE HALIMI and SIMONE DE BEAUVOIR, Djamila Boupacha, London (Andre Deutsch), 1962. |