NEWS FROM THE CELTIC LEAGUE As the deadline for Ireland the reopen a ECtHR torture case, involving internees in the north of Ireland in the early 1970s, fast approaches the Celtic League General Secretary (GS) has written to the Taoiseach urging action. ?A Dhuine Uasail ?The Hooded Men? European Court of Human Rights Appeal On the 18th of January 1978 the European Court of Human Rights judged in the case of Ireland versus the United Kingdom that the treatment of the ?Hooded Men? on 9th of August 1971 was not tantamount to torture, but it was accepted by the court that the men, who had been interned in the North of Ireland, had been the subject of ?inhumane and degrading treatment?. It is clear that the European Court?s judgement was seriously flawed in that it was based mainly on medical evidence that the UK Government had provided. New evidence has now emerged about the case from an undercover investigative team of journalists and a programme was broadcast on RTÉ?s Primetime television on the 4th June 2014. ?The Torture Files? programme shows explicitly, through evidence obtained by the Pat Finucane Centre and RTÉ Prime Time held in the British National Archives, how the UK Government had not disclosed all the available information to the court about the techniques that had been used on the ?Hooded Men?. It is now absolutely necessary that an appeal of the case is made to the European Court of Human Rights, not only in the interests of those that were tortured in Ireland by the British armed forces, but for the other victims from around the world who have been subjected to the same treatment by British and American armed forces in areas like Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo, because of the precedent set by the incomplete judgement made by the European Court of Human Rights in 1978. It is my understanding that there is a time limit of six months to launch an appeal to the European Court of Human Rights following the emergence of new evidence about historic cases. From the emergence of the new evidence and broadcast on 4th June 2014, the deadline of Thursday 4th December 2014 is fast approaching. I urge you to launch an appeal on the basis of the new found evidence with immediate effect. Is mise, le meas Rhisiart Tal-e-bot General Secretary Celtic League? Link to earlier post on this issue on the main League web site here: (voir le site) J B Moffatt (Mr) Director of Information 01/12/14 (Please note that replies to correspondence received by the League and posted on CL News are usually scanned hard copies. Obviously every effort is made to ensure the scanning process is accurate but sometimes errors do occur.) ISSUED BY THE CELTIC LEAGUE INFORMATION SERVICE. The Celtic League has branches in the six Celtic Countries. It works to promote cooperation between these countries and campaigns on a broad range of political, cultural and environmental matters. It highlights human rights abuse, monitors all military activity and focuses on socio-economic issues Internet site at: (voir le site) (voir le site)