Victory for UK as IRA suspect loses human rights appeal
BRITAIN has won a major victory as European judges threw out a human rights claim by a Republican linked to the murder of two soldiers.
Colin Duffy argued it was unlawful for police to detain him for 12 days after he was arrested over the ‘pizza delivery’ shooting of two UK soldiers outside their military base in Northern Ireland.
But in a triumph for British sovereignty, the European Court of Human Rights ruled his case was ‘inadmissible’ and threw it out.
It was the latest in a string of verdicts that have gone Britain’s way following Conservative threats to leave the controversial court’s jurisdiction. Backbenchers have said this shows what could be achieved if Britain stood up to European institutions.
Duffy, who has long-standing links to terror groups in Ulster, lost his claim that his detention under UK terror laws had breached his human rights.
He argued his time in custody was incompatible with Article 5 of the Human Rights Act – the right to liberty and security – lining himself up for a potential compensation payout.
Duffy had been held on suspicion of being involved in the shooting of Sappers Patrick Azimkar, 21, and Mark Quinsey, 23, as they collected a pizza at the entrance to Massereene Barracks in Antrim in March 2009.
The Real IRA, a Republican splinter group opposed to the peace process, claimed responsibility for the brutal ambush.
Duffy, from Lurgan, County Armagh, was acquitted in January 2012, despite the judge’s ‘strong suspicion’ he was involved, because there was not enough evidence to convict him – even though his DNA was found in the getaway car.
After his arrest, police had been granted an extension to hold Duffy under the Terrorism Act and 12 days later he was charged with two murders, five attempted murders and possession of a firearm.
Duffy – who in 1996 had a life sentence for murder quashed by the Court of Appeal – claimed the authorities had breached his entitlement to ‘trial within a reasonable time or release pending trial’. But the ECHR ruled his application was submitted outside a six-month time limit, and it was therefore ‘not empowered to entertain the complaints’.
He was joined in the legal action by Gabriel Magee from Belfast and Teresa Magee from Craigavon, who were arrested in 2009 in connection with the killing of a police officer and held for 12 days before being released without charge. However judges rejected their claims, saying 12 days was a ‘relatively short period of time’ for suspects to be detained during terror investigations.
A Home Office spokesman said: ‘We welcome the court’s decision.
‘Terrorist investigations are complex in nature and ... the current arrangements ensure that public protection remains paramount and that potentially dangerous individuals are not released before they have been fully investigated by the police.’