Rosemary Nelson

Rosemary Nelson (née Magee; 4 September 1958 – 15 March 1999) was an Irish human rights solicitor who was assassinated by an Ulster loyalist paramilitary group in 1999.

Rosemary Nelson
Born
Rosemary Magee

(1958-09-04)September 4, 1958
Belfast, Northern Ireland
DiedMarch 15, 1999(1999-03-15) (aged 40)
OccupationHuman rights lawyer
Known forMurder by Ulster loyalists in 1999

A bomb exploded under Nelson's car at her home in Lurgan, Northern Ireland. A loyalist paramilitary group calling itself the Red Hand Defenders claimed responsibility for the murder. Allegations that the British state security forces were involved in her killing led to a public inquiry. It found no evidence that state forces directly facilitated her murder, but could not exclude the possibility that individual members had helped the perpetrators. It said that the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) failed to protect her and that she had been publicly threatened and assaulted by officers, which helped legitimize her as a target.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12]

Nelson obtained her law degree at Queen's University Belfast (QUB) School of Law. She worked with other solicitors for a number of years before opening her own practice in Lurgan in 1989.[13] Nelson represented clients in a number of high-profile cases (including Michael Caraher, one of the South Armagh Snipers, as well as a republican paramilitary accused of killing two RUC officers. She also represented the Garvaghy Road Residents' Coalition in nearby Portadown in the long-running Drumcree conflict against the Orange Order and RUC.

Nelson was posthumously awarded the Train Foundation's Civil Courage Prize, which recognises "extraordinary heroes of conscience".[14]

Assassination

Nelson claimed she had received death threats from members of the RUC as a result of her legal work. Some RUC officers made abusive and threatening remarks about Nelson to her clients, which became publicly known.[1] In 1997, while approaching police lines in her capacity as legal representative of the Garvaghy Road Residents' Coalition, she was grabbed by an RUC officer and pulled into the middle of the police. Nelson reported to the Committee on the Administration of Justice that one of the officers said "Rosemary you Fenian fucker", spat in her face, and that the police pushed her around to the extent that she had bruises all over her arm, her right shoulder and her legs. The later Rosemary Nelson Inquiry concluded that her account of this incident was honest and truthful.[13]

In 1998, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Solicitors, Param Cumaraswamy, noted threats from the RUC in his annual report, and stated in a television interview that he believed her life could be in danger. He made recommendations to the British government concerning threats from police against solicitors, which were not acted upon. Later that year, Nelson testified before a committee of the United States Congress investigating human rights in Northern Ireland, confirming that death threats had been made against her and her three children.[15]

Nelson was assassinated, at the age of 40, by a car bomb outside her home in Lurgan, County Armagh, in 1999. The Red Hand Defenders claimed responsibility for the killing.[16] She was survived by her husband and their three children.

Inquiry

In 2004, the Cory Collusion Inquiry recommended that the UK Government hold an inquiry into the circumstances of Nelson's death.

The resulting inquiry into her assassination opened at the Craigavon Civic Centre, Craigavon, County Armagh, in April 2005.[17] In September 2006 the British Security Service MI5 announced it would be represented at the inquiry. This move provoked criticism from Nelson's family, who reportedly expressed concerns that MI5 would remove sensitive or classified information.[18]

The results of the inquiry were published on 23 May 2011.[19] The inquiry found no evidence that state agencies (the RUC, British Army and MI5) had "directly facilitated" her murder, but "could not exclude the possibility" that individual members had helped the perpetrators.[1] It found that state agencies had failed to protect her and that some RUC intelligence about her had 'leaked'. Both of these, it said, increased the danger to her life.[1] The report also stated that RUC officers had publicly abused and assaulted her in 1997, and made threatening remarks about her to her clients, which became publicly known.[1] It concluded that this helped "legitimise her as a target in the eyes of loyalist terrorists".[1]

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See also

References
  1. The Rosemary Nelson Inquiry Report (2011). pp.465-466
  2. Beatrix Campbell (4 July 2009). "So who did kill Rosemary Nelson?". The Guardian.
  3. Massimino, Elisa (2000). "Paying the Ultimate Price for Human Rights: The Life and Death of Rosemary Nelson" (PDF). Human Rights Magazine. 27 (4): 3–4. ISSN 0046-8185. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 April 2004.
  4. "Northern Ireland – Human Rights Day call to British government". Amnesty International. 13 December 1999.
  5. "The Murder of Rosemary Nelson: Impartial Outside Investigation Urged". National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. 16 March 1999.
  6. "Loyalist McKeown: Police asked me to shoot Rosemary Nelson dead". The Belfast Telegraph. 28 July 2008.
  7. T. R. Reid (16 March 1999). "Car Bomb Kills Catholic Lawyer in Northern Ireland". The Washington Post.
  8. Mary Dundon (16 March 1999). "Riots erupt after loyalists kill lawyer". Irish Examiner. Archived from the original on 29 May 2003.
  9. "Human Rights in Action: A Brief History of The New York City Bar's Work to Promote Peace and Respect for Human Rights in Northern Ireland" (PDF). New York City Bar Association.
  10. "Man held over Rosemary Nelson murder". Evening Standard. 7 November 2001. Archived from the original on 6 June 2011.
  11. Michael Patrick MacDonald (12 March 2007). "An Irish champion of human rights". The Boston Globe.
  12. "Who Killed Rosemary Nelson?". Democracy Now!. 18 March 1999. Archived from the original on 10 January 2008.
  13. Gráinséir, Seosamh (15 March 2019). "Irish Legal Heritage: Rosemary Nelson". Irish Legal News. Retrieved 20 March 2019.
  14. "Honorees". Civil Courage Prize. 2010. Retrieved 26 May 2011.
  15. "Special Rapporteur on Independence of Judiciary Calls for Independent Investigation into Murder of Northern Ireland Human Rights Attorney". United Nations. 16 March 1999.
  16. "Car bomb kills Northern Ireland lawyer". BBC News. 15 March 1999.
  17. "Police team assist Nelson inquiry". BBC News. 12 May 2005.
  18. "MI5 represented at Nelson inquiry". BBC News. 21 September 2006.
  19. "Rosemary Nelson Inquiry: 'no collusion' in murder". BBC News. 23 May 2011. Retrieved 23 May 2011.
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