Gerry Adams, arrested for a murder committed in 1972 IRA

Sinn Féin president, Gerry Adams, has been arrested by police in Northern Ireland for questioning for the murder in 1972 of a Catholic woman believed to be a police informant. Jean McConville, who was 37 years old and a widow and mother of 10, was abducted from her home in the Divis, a suburb west of Belfast, for a group of 12 IRA terrorists and taken to one or more safe houses before being executed. His body was buried on a beach in the Republic of Ireland, 80 miles from Belfast.

Adams has rejected what it calls “malicious allegations that have been made” against him in a note issued by Sinn Féin. ” Although I have never disconnected from the IRA and never will, I am innocent of everything related to the kidnapping, murder and burial of Mrs. McConville,” emphasizes the note by the leader of the Republican political arm, which was always thought that came to also direct the armed wing, the terrorist group now disbanded Irish Republican Army, Provisional branch (IRA).

“I think the killing of Jean McConville and secret burial was a mistake and an unfortunate injustice to her and her family,” said the Republican leader. The IRA did not admit his involvement in the crime until 1999, after the signing of the peace accords of 1998 Good Friday, and the body of Jean McConville did not appear until 2003. Investigations by the police in Northern Ireland after the murder of this woman came to the conclusion that it was not a contributor to the British police.

“Last month I said that I have voluntarily offered to testify for the case of Jean McConville,” adds Adams in the note issued by his party. He explains that he did this afternoon to appear at a police station Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI its acronym in English) even though he was ” concerned about the chosen time,” he nuance in reference to the upcoming elections European and local in three weeks.

“As a republican leader I have never shirked my responsibility to build peace. That includes tackling the difficult issue of victims and their families. So far it has always been possible that I have worked to reach a conclusion of cases where victims and their families have contacted me. Although they may not agree, that includes the family of Jean McComnville “he added.

Last month, Ivor Bell, 77 and one of the leaders of the IRA in the 70s, was charged by police in relation to this murder. Other people, like now Adams, have been arrested for questioning, but have not yet been formally charged.

The charges against Bell are based on the work carried out by researchers from Boston College in the United States. This is particularly a series of candid interviews of former paramilitaries, both Catholic and Protestant loyalist Republicans. The aim of this school was to create an oral history of unrest in Northern Ireland from the testimony of his direct protagonists.

The paramilitaries who participated in these interviews were assured that their disclosures not be made public until after his death. However, after a series of cases in U.S. courts, the content of some of the interviews has been handed over to the authorities.

The Jean McConville is one of the 16 cases of disappeared during the troubles in Northern Ireland investigated by the Independent Commission called for the Location of Victims Remains launched in 1999 by an agreement between the governments in Dublin and London within the framework of the peace process in Ulster. Even today still have not been found in the bodies of seven of the 16 victims who were considered missing.

The leader of Sinn Féin Deputy Mary Lou McDonald said tonight that the timing of the arrest of the Republican leader, three weeks away from the European elections and local elections, makes you think ” that decision due to political reasons and aims to damage Gerry Adams and Sinn Féin “. The note by the Republican Party, its chairman said that ” Sinn Féin signed Haas proposals to address the past.”

” While I respect the right of families if they so choose to seek redress through the courts, it is the responsibility of the two governments and political parties to address all these issues and agree on a process that puts victims at the center all this, “adds Gerry Adams.

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Posted by Jamshed Sindhu on May 3 2014. Filed under Europe, World. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.