The Northern Ireland Attorney General’s call for an end to prosecutions for killings during three decades of political violence in Northern Ireland is an utter betrayal of victims’ fundamental rights to justice, Amnesty International said today.Attorney General John Larkin said there should be no inquests, inquiries and prosecutions into any killings that took place before the signing of the Good Friday/Belfast Agreement in 1998.John Dalhuisen, Director of Amnesty International’s Europe and Central Asia Programme, said:“The Attorney General’s call today would in effect be the granting of a blanket amnesty for human rights abuses and violations committed by all sides during the three decades of political violence in Northern Ireland. It would be an utter betrayal of victims’ fundamental right to justice.“Such a move would fly in the face of international human rights standards and perpetuate impunity.“While fully recognising the challenges in bringing prosecutions after many years have passed, it is nonetheless vital that where sufficient evidence exists those suspected of committing killings, life-threatening attacks, torture and ill-treatment should be brought before the courts.
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