ECtHR to rule in case brought against UK by sister of killed IRA volunteer

ECtHR to rule in case brought against UK by sister of killed IRA volunteer

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) will rule this week in a case brought against the United Kingdom by the sister of an IRA volunteer who was shot dead by British soldiers in 1990.

The applicant in the case is Sally Gribben, whose brother Martin McCaughey and fellow IRA volunteer Desmond Grew were shot and killed by soldiers near Loughgall on 9 October 1990.

Mr McCaughey was struck by around 10 high-velocity bullets, while Mr Grew had roughly 48 wounds made by bullets entering and exiting his body. Neither of the men had fired any weapons themselves.

The shooting of the two men was one of several at the time which gave rise to allegations of a “shoot-to-kill” policy by the security forces in Northern Ireland, including in the specialist British Army unit whose soldiers were responsible for the shooting.

The deaths were investigated by the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) and prosecutors decided in 1993 that none of the soldiers involved should be prosecuted. An inquest was held in 2012 after being delayed by family litigation and ultimately returned a verdict of “lawful killing”.

Relying on Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights (right to life/investigation), Ms Gribben complains that there was a failure to conduct an effective investigation into the circumstances of the death of her brother.

The court will hand down its ruling on Thursday morning.

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