Former internees to sue over detention

THE discovery of government papers from the early years of the Troubles in the North has sparked a court action by former prisoners held without trial under the controversial policy of internment.

Six former internees who reported being tortured by British troops are suing Britain’s defence ministry, Secretary of State and police, as well as the estate of the late Brain Faulkner, former Northern Ireland Prime Minister.

The group, who see their action as a test case for the 2,000 people interned in the early 1970s, said the confidential documents confir- med their long-standing belief that the policy was directed against the Catholic community and included indiscriminate arrests.

One man recounted having barbed wire wrapped around his wrists before he was hooded and beaten by troops, while a woman jailed without trial recalled the trauma of having to sign her two children into care.

Solicitor Padraig O’ Muirigh said his clients were launching proceedings on the 40th anniversary of internment, which began on August 9 1971.