'Waterboard' torture claims heard
Published Friday, 27 January 2012
A convicted murderer's bid to clear his name has been put back amid claims that he was subjected to waterboarding torture techniques.
Liam Holden, the last man sentenced to death in Northern Ireland, alleges that the controversial military interrogation method was used to extract a confession for the murder of a British soldier 40 years ago.
Holden, from Ballymurphy, west Belfast, was due to hang after being found guilty of shooting Private Frank Bell in September 1972.
His death sentence, however, was commuted to life imprisonment and he served 17 years in jail before applying to an independent body set up to examine alleged miscarriages of justice.
The Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) referred his conviction back to the Court of Appeal on the basis that it may have been unsafe.
The move followed an examination of new evidence and the admissibility and reliability of confessions.
Holden's appeal was set to be heard next month, but his barrister revealed on Friday that fresh material has been received in relation to alleged ill-treatment.
Barry Macdonald QC told the court: "That concerns the allegation of a technique used that is now known as waterboarding."
The alleged method is believed to involve a towel being placed over Holden's face before water was poured over it to give the impression he was drowning.
His solicitor was said to have carried out extensive research to obtain any evidence to back up the claim.
Mr Macdonald added: "Just this week we have received three lever arch files full of material concerning that particular issue of waterboarding."
He requested more time to study the information before deciding whether to seek to admit fresh evidence.
Lord Chief Justice Sir Declan Morgan agreed to put the appeal back to a later date.
"In the circumstances we have no option but to take the case out," he said.