KRW LAW statement issued on behalf of EX- Internee clients and pending legal action

We act on behalf of 30 ex- Republican Internment clients who have instructed us to issue proceedings against the Secretary of State , the NIO , PSNI and MOD alleging false imprisonment .unlawful detention ,assault ,battery and trespass arising out of Interim Custody Orders served from 1972 – 75. One of the main cases involves Tony Sloan who was interned a record 3 times. He was part of the first group of detainees in December 1971 through to June 1972, then April 1973 through to April 1974 and finally he was one of the last internees when released in December 1975.

The action issues on foot of the recent Supreme court Ruling in the case of Gerry Adams.

Secondly we have lodged a separate application to the High court in relation to 19 ex- Loyalist Internment actions previously issued some time ago.

Speaking today solicitor Kevin Winters said “The first so called ex- loyalist internment case was due for full hearing before the High court on 19/5/20 but was taken out because of the COVID- 19 crisis.

The adjournment could not have been more timely given the prospective significance of the Adams ruling on both sets of cases.

From initial assessment on some of the papers it seems the necessary protocol was not in place including crucially an absence of the signature of the Secretary of State on the ICOs.

We have today filed a summons in the High court to amend the pleadings in the lead Internment Challenge to take into account the Supreme Court Ruling.

We expect the case to be heard later this year when the full impact of that ruling will be made known.

That in turn will be of huge relevance to all Internment cases collectively.”