Sinn Féin President Mary Lou McDonald has praised the “determination and persistence” of the Hooded Men, as the British Supreme Court has today ruled that the decision by the PSNI to discontinue the investigation into their torture was unlawful.
 
Teachta McDonald said:
 
“For almost 50 years, the Hooded Men have been forced to campaign for truth and justice. It is only through their determination and persistence that the British State has not succeeded in covering up their role in the systematic torture of these men.
 
“They were arrested, tortured and then held without trial. They have been forced over decades into courts in Ireland, England and Europe in pursuit of justice. Today must be the last time these men are forced into a court to get the British State to act.
 
“It is significant that in today’s judgement the court acknowledged the treatment to which the Hooded Men were subjected at the hands of the Crown Forces would amount to torture by today’s standards.
 
“The demand for truth and justice will not go away. Neither will it be buried by the current British government plan for an amnesty.

“The British government need to return to the proposals agreed at Stormont House and start facing up to their responsibilities in this regard and start to play their part in the construction of a new relationship between these two islands build upon equality and respect.”