Hundreds attend vigil to mark Finucane anniversary

Hundreds of people attended a candle-lit vigil in Belfast last night to mark the 20th anniversary of the murder of Belfast solicitor Pat Fincuane.

The 39-year-old, who represented a number of alleged IRA members in court, was shot dead in front of his wife and three children on February 12, 1989.

Police inquiries have already discovered that the UDA man who pulled the trigger was an informer for the RUC Special Branch, as was the man who provided him with the murder weapon.

A British Army agent also scouted the house to prepare for the killing.

The British government has offered to hold a public inquiry into the murder, but the Finucane family are refusing to co-operate with the process because it would allow crucial evidence to be kept secret.

They say they will accept nothing short of a fully independent inquiry with no restrictions.

“In 2006 the Dáil passed an all-party motion supporting the calls for a full public inquiry,” said Amnesty International Ireland executive director Colm O’Gorman.

“The Dáil rightly rejected the proposed inquiry from the British government as being inadequate. On the 20th anniversary of his death we are calling on the Irish Government, and Opposition parties, to renew their efforts to ensure that the British government fulfils its obligations, both to the Finucane family, and to international human rights standards.

“We are calling on members of the public to log on to www.amnesty.ie on Thursday and add their voices to the calls on British Prime Minister Gordon Brown to deliver justice for the Finucane family.”

A series of debates and protests is taking place in the North today to mark the anniversary, while a conference will also be held this weekend at Trinity College Dublin, where Mr Finucane studied law.