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Article: Court condemns secrecy surrounding shootings LOUGHALL In 1987, the SAS killed these eight armed IRA terrorists. The European Court says their families have a right to learn the details
- Article from:
- The Independent (London, England)
- Article date:
- May 5, 2001
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 2001 The Independent - London. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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A HIDDEN squad of 24 SAS men fired 600 shots at an IRA unit,
killing eight of its members, in the incident at the heart of
yesterday's judgment by the European Court of Human Rights. The
ambush, at the police station in the quiet Co Armagh village of
Loughall in May 1987, is regarded as the IRA's worst single setback
during its recent history.
The European Court has expressly not said that the killings were
unlawful, but it has delivered forthright criticisms of the legal
avenues open to the relatives of those who died. The judgment
primarily concerns incidents during the Eighties in which IRA members
were killed in carefully laid ambushes by special RUC units or by the
SAS.
In the ...