Henry O’Rawe, who died in 2010, was convicted more than 50 years ago, on 25 March 1975, at Belfast City Commission of escaping lawful custody and was sentenced to 18 months’ imprisonment.

He had been interned by way of an interim custody order (ICO) under the Detention of Terrorists (Northern Ireland) Order 1972 since 12 February 1973.

On 29 June 1974, he was taken to Lagan Valley Hospital for medical treatment, where he attempted to escape and later sustained his conviction.

Mr O’Rawe did not appeal his conviction before his death in August 2010. An application on his behalf was submitted by his family to the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) in September 2023.

A case review manager at the CCRC discovered a discrepancy between the signature on the ICO used in 1973 to detain Mr O’Rawe and that on 175 other ICOs signed by the Northern Ireland secretary of the time, William Whitelaw.

The CCRC says there is real doubt that the ICO was signed or personally authorised by Mr Whitelaw as required by law.

The CCRC has also reviewed the concerns of senior government officials in London and Northern Ireland at the time regarding the process by which ICOs were being considered, including concerns of unlawfulness.  

This involved obtaining and scrutinising numerous documents from the Public Records Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI). and the Northern Ireland Office.

There is a real possibility this evidence will persuade the Northern Ireland Court of Appeal that it should not presume the signature on Mr O’Rawe’s ICO is authentic, the CCRC says.

It says there is, therefore, a real possibility that the court will conclude the ICO imposed on Mr O’Rawe was invalid and that as a result he was detained unlawfully and wrongfully convicted.

CCRC chair Dame Vera Baird KC said: “This was a meticulous piece of research by our case review manager.

“If the Northern Ireland Court of Appeal concludes that the ICO imposed on Mr O’Rawe was invalid, this case will represent far more than a procedural or administrative formality — it will confirm a wrongful deprivation of Mr O’Rawe’s liberty.

“Our justice system depends not only on its decisions, but on the legitimacy of the processes that lead to them.”