Source: https://madden-finucane.com/2007/11/27/sarah-reavey-v-uk-2/
Timestamp: 2019-11-15 02:53:23
Document Index: 338960596

Matched Legal Cases: ['application no. 34622', 'application no. 34575', 'application no. 32457', 'application no. 34622', 'application no. 34651', '§ 92']

Sarah Reavey V. UK | Madden & Finucane Solicitors
Sarah Reavey V. UK
7. On the evening of 4 January 1976, John Reavey, Brian Reavey and Anthony Reavey, sons of the applicant, were at home watching television. Between 6.05-6.10 p.m., three gunmen entered the house and shot all three brothers. Brian was shot three times in the back and once in the legs; John was hit by 14-16 9mm bullets in the neck and body: the autopsy report concluded that death would have been rapid in both cases. Anthony was hit six times in the legs. When the gunmen had gone, Anthony made his way to a neighbour’s house to give the alarm. He later died of a brain haemorrhage in hospital on 30 January 1976, the autopsy report concluding that the wounds that he had received had played no part in his death.
8. On the same night, three other Catholics, Barry O’Dowd, Declan O’Dowd and Joseph O’Dowd were shot and killed in County Down, about twenty minutes after the attack on the Reaveys (see application no. 34622/04).
16. McCaughey’s revelations gave rise to investigations in eleven specific cases, some of which were linked in terms of the identities of those involved, the modus operandi or by virtue of the ballistic examinations of weapons used. Nine suspects were arrested in total, including five police officers and all were eventually charged with offences.
18. Apparently around this time, the applicant stated that Chief Superintendent Gerry McCann of the Royal Ulster Constabulary (“RUC”) initiated a meeting with a member of the Reavey family and told him that he believed that two McClures (one of whom was Laurence McClure, a former Reserve Constable in the RUC) and James Mitchell, also a former Reserve Constable, were involved in the attacks on the Reaveys as well as the attacks on Donnelly’s Bar (19 December 1975- see Brecknell v. the United Kingdom, no. 32457/04 ) and the Rock Bar (5 June 1976: see McGrath v. the United Kingdom, no. 34651/04). He also named Robert McConnell (a former part time member of the Ulster Defence Regiment, the “UDR”) as the gunman who entered the house first. He said that one of the men was going to turn Queen’s evidence if convicted of the Rock Bar attack, an apparent reference to Laurence McClure.
20. John Weir’s statement made detailed allegations about security force collusion with loyalist paramilitaries in a series of incidents. He alleged inter alia that RUC Reserve Constable Laurence McClure had told him that the murder of the Reavey family members was carried out by Robert McConnell, a member of the UDR, Laurence McClure, Johnny Mitchell, another Reserve Constable in the RUC and McClure’s brother who was not a member of the security forces. The statement also made links between this incident and other attacks allegedly carried out by members of the security forces, both RUC and UDR, and loyalist paramilitaries. This group used the farmhouse in Glennane owned by James Mitchell, a RUC reservist, as a base from which to carry out attacks on Catholics and nationalists. Other attacks allegedly included the murder of Colm McCartney and Sean Farmer at a bogus vehicle checkpoint in August 1975 (see application no. 34575/04); the attack on Donnelly’s Bar in which Trevor Brecknell, Michael Donnelly and Patrick Donnelly were killed (see application no. 32457/04); the murder of Joseph, Barry and Declan O’Dowd and wounding of Barney O’Dowd (see application no. 34622/04); and the attack on the Rock Bar in which Michael McGrath was seriously injured (see application no. 34651/04). Weir also linked these attacks to the Dublin and Monaghan bombings in which 33 people were killed in the Republic of Ireland.
22. These allegations attracted considerable attention on both sides of the Irish border and became the subject of police investigation in both jurisdictions. The Government stated that the police investigation in Northern Ireland was focussed on determining whether Weir’s allegations should be assessed as sufficiently credible to require a full investigation. They obtained from the journalist an edited transcript of the interview with Weir. While his whereabouts were unknown to the RUC, Weir met with senior Irish police officers at the Irish Embassy on 15 April 1999. A copy of his statement was provided by the Garda to the RUC, along with a further statement made by Weir to another journalist dated 3 February 1999. The police analysed the available materials and sought to identify the personalities to be interviewed. It became apparent that some had died and that others, living abroad, could not be traced. A series of seven interviews were conducted, under cautions, between July and December 2001, of those individuals central to Weir’s account who could be traced. No charges were preferred. The interviews followed the format of Weir’s allegations being put to the interviewee for his or her response. The predominant response was denial of any involvement and claims that Weir had been untruthful. No admissions were made by any interviewee. Interviews were also conducted with less central personalities and with police officers involved in interviewing Weir in 1978. The latter stated that Weir had not mentioned the matters now being alleged. Amongst those interviewed by the police in the course of the preliminary investigation of Weir’s allegations, one person was questioned about the Reavey murders. He denied any involvement and made no admissions.
23. Meetings were held regularly with RUC counterparts in the Republic of Ireland. The RUC co-operated also with the judicial inquiry established in the Republic of Ireland into the Dublin and Monaghan bombings (see the description of the inquiry in the Brecknell case referred to above). Amongst matters about which the RUC team provided information to the inquiry was ballistics information which linked some of the weapons used to more than one incident. In February 2000 a substantial report was compiled by the RUC for the Garda dealing with Weir’s allegations. It profiled Weir and dealt inter alia with a description of the 1978 investigation into McCaughey, Weir and others. It concluded that the investigation would continue but that his credibility was in doubt. According to the Government, despite inquiries being conducted, Weir’s whereabouts could not be traced. This report was not disclosed as the investigation was continuing. An internal RUC report dated 27 February 2001 concluded that it would be necessary to interview Weir before any view could be finalised in respect of the credibility of his allegations: such interview was not possible as his whereabouts were not known. The report noted the absence of any previous mention of the allegations before 1999 and that much of what he said was hearsay and speculation. Enquiries made of the British Embassy in Nigeria (where he had a known address) and the criminal intelligence service and others failed to locate Weir. Contact was made with the Garda and the secretariat of the Inquiry into the Dublin and Monaghan bombings without positive result.
27. The applicant complained that the United Kingdom had failed to provide an effective official investigation into the circumstances of her sons’ death after allegations were made in 1999 by John Weir as to RUC involvement, invoking Article 2 of the Convention which provides:
32. The applicant claimed non-pecuniary damage for the suffering and distress caused by the State’s failure to conduct an effective official investigation into the circumstances of her sons’ deaths.
34. The Court has found that the national authorities failed in their obligation to provide a properly independent investigative response in the initial stages following the allegations made by John Weir concerning the deaths of the applicant’s sons. In the circumstances, it considers that the applicant sustained some non-pecuniary damage which is not sufficiently compensated by the finding of a violation of the Convention. Making an assessment on an equitable basis, the Court awards the sum of EUR 5,000.
35. The applicant claimed GBP 7,358.97 for solicitors’ costs, inclusive of value added tax (VAT) for this application.
38. The Court has already awarded EUR 29,000 for solicitors’ costs in the Brecknell case (§ 92). Having regard to the fact that only the initial presentation of facts in this case required separate treatment from the lead application, it awards the applicant EUR 5,000, which figure is inclusive of VAT.