Torture methods used during internment of Irish nationalists at the height of the Northern Irish Troubles were sanctioned by the British government, an Irish television documentary claims.
In 1971, as violence intensified in the sectarian conflict, internment – or imprisonment without trial – was introduced by the British state as it tried to bring order to the province.
Hundreds of Catholic nationalists were brought to detention camps at army bases. Twelve men, who became known as the Hooded Men, were selected for 'deep interrogation'.
A European Commission report later found the men were subjected to five techniques of deprivation: hooding, wall standing in stress positions for hours, sleep deprivation, water and food deprivation and subjection to noise.
"I was stripped naked, given a pair of army overalls and taken in my bare feet to a room and placed in the search position," one of the men, Gerard McKerr, told "The Torture Files" on RTE television.
"I was concerned that their objective was just to have my mind in pulp. I was going to be brain washed."
The programme also spoke to the daughter of Sean McKenna, one of the Hooded Men, who was interned in prison after his interrogation.
"And I went in, my father was a very broken man, sitting crying, very shaky," Mary McKenna said.
"He was a great father before that, that man never came back. My father never came back."
-- Men 'thrown from chopper' --
The men were also thrown from a low-hovering helicopter while their heads were covered in hoods.
When details of the men's treatment broke, there was public uproar with civil rights' leaders calling for an immediate response.
British Prime Minister Edward Heath banned the techniques in March 1972.
Following the outcry, Dublin said it could no longer stand by as innocent people were injured and insisted the torture was sanctioned at a high level.
Britain denied the claim, saying the techniques used were an unfortunate lapse and parried the blame to lower ranks.
But the programme's reporter Rita O'Reilly discovered a memo at the British National Archives in Kew, which she says, implicates government ministers in the torture.
A letter from Home Secretary Merlyn Rees to Prime Minister James Callaghan dated March 31, 1977 stated a political decision was taken to introduce the techniques.
"It is my view that the decision to use methods of torture in Northern Ireland in 1971/2 was taken by ministers – in particular Lord Carrington, then Secretary of State for Defence."
Ireland took the case to the European Commission on Human Rights, which, in a 1976 ruling, found the treatment was torture.
But in 1978, the European Court of Human Rights overturned that decision, concluding that although the techniques were inhuman and degrading, they did not constitute torture.
In a response to the programme, the Ministry of Defence said "the UK government in no way seeks to defend the use of the interrogation techniques declared illegal by the European Court."
In a letter sent on his behalf, Lord Carrington, now 94, said he had nothing to add to the MoD statement.
The documentary also alleges that the UK government did not disclose relevant evidence to the European Court of Human Rights, in its defence of the case.
The MoD added that it had not been provided with any evidence to substantiate allegations made about the way the British case was presented so could not comment.
But Amnesty International described the revelations as "deeply worrying".
"Tonight's revelations underscore the need for a comprehensive means of dealing with our troubled past," said Patrick Corrigan, the charity's Northern Ireland Programme Director.
He called for "all parties to come clean about their role in human rights violations and abuses".
Some 3,000 people were killed in the three decades of sectarian bombings and shootings in Northern Ireland known as "The Troubles"
Torture methods used during internment of Irish nationalists at the height of the Northern Irish Troubles were sanctioned by the British government, an Irish television documentary claims.
In 1971, as violence intensified in the sectarian conflict, internment – or imprisonment without trial – was introduced by the British state as it tried to bring order to the province.
Hundreds of Catholic nationalists were brought to detention camps at army bases. Twelve men, who became known as the Hooded Men, were selected for ‘deep interrogation’.
A European Commission report later found the men were subjected to five techniques of deprivation: hooding, wall standing in stress positions for hours, sleep deprivation, water and food deprivation and subjection to noise.
“I was stripped naked, given a pair of army overalls and taken in my bare feet to a room and placed in the search position,” one of the men, Gerard McKerr, told “The Torture Files” on RTE television.
“I was concerned that their objective was just to have my mind in pulp. I was going to be brain washed.”
The programme also spoke to the daughter of Sean McKenna, one of the Hooded Men, who was interned in prison after his interrogation.
“And I went in, my father was a very broken man, sitting crying, very shaky,” Mary McKenna said.
“He was a great father before that, that man never came back. My father never came back.”
— Men ‘thrown from chopper’ —
The men were also thrown from a low-hovering helicopter while their heads were covered in hoods.
When details of the men’s treatment broke, there was public uproar with civil rights’ leaders calling for an immediate response.
British Prime Minister Edward Heath banned the techniques in March 1972.
Following the outcry, Dublin said it could no longer stand by as innocent people were injured and insisted the torture was sanctioned at a high level.
Britain denied the claim, saying the techniques used were an unfortunate lapse and parried the blame to lower ranks.
But the programme’s reporter Rita O’Reilly discovered a memo at the British National Archives in Kew, which she says, implicates government ministers in the torture.
A letter from Home Secretary Merlyn Rees to Prime Minister James Callaghan dated March 31, 1977 stated a political decision was taken to introduce the techniques.
“It is my view that the decision to use methods of torture in Northern Ireland in 1971/2 was taken by ministers – in particular Lord Carrington, then Secretary of State for Defence.”
Ireland took the case to the European Commission on Human Rights, which, in a 1976 ruling, found the treatment was torture.
But in 1978, the European Court of Human Rights overturned that decision, concluding that although the techniques were inhuman and degrading, they did not constitute torture.
In a response to the programme, the Ministry of Defence said “the UK government in no way seeks to defend the use of the interrogation techniques declared illegal by the European Court.”
In a letter sent on his behalf, Lord Carrington, now 94, said he had nothing to add to the MoD statement.
The documentary also alleges that the UK government did not disclose relevant evidence to the European Court of Human Rights, in its defence of the case.
The MoD added that it had not been provided with any evidence to substantiate allegations made about the way the British case was presented so could not comment.
But Amnesty International described the revelations as “deeply worrying”.
“Tonight’s revelations underscore the need for a comprehensive means of dealing with our troubled past,” said Patrick Corrigan, the charity’s Northern Ireland Programme Director.
He called for “all parties to come clean about their role in human rights violations and abuses”.
Some 3,000 people were killed in the three decades of sectarian bombings and shootings in Northern Ireland known as “The Troubles”
