The Ancient Order of Hibernians (AOH), the oldest and largest Irish Catholic organization in the US, is set to host a live webinar entitled "Britain's Legacy Crisis and the Murder of Sean Brown" this Saturday, May 31.
During the webinar, Sean Brown’s daughter Clare Brown Loughran will speak about the heartbreaking impact of the ongoing denial of justice on the Brown family, especially her 87-year-old mother Bridie Brown, as they continue to fight for truth.
Daniel Holder of the Committee for the Administration of Justice will discuss the defects of the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery (ICRIR), set up by the UK's Conservatives but now advocated by the governing Labour Party, and why victims’ families do not believe the commission can deliver justice.
Additionally, the Irish Government will have a representative to state its position on the Sean Brown case, the status of the European Court case, and where the issue of legacy justice stands.
The free, live webinar is scheduled for 11 am New York time / 4 pm Irish time this Saturday. Registration for the Zoom webinar is open online here.
The AOH webinar will also be streamed live on YouTube:
On May 12, 1997, Sean Brown was abducted from outside the GAA club Bellaghy Wolfe Tones in Co Derry.
He was forcibly placed into the boot compartment of his own vehicle and driven to farmland adjoining Old Moneynick Road, Randalstown, Co Antrim.
He was shot six times and his vehicle set alight.
Police officers who attended the scene discovered his body, lying next to his burning vehicle.
No one has ever been convicted of his murder.
Announcing its upcoming webinar, the AOH said that ever since the murder, the Brown family sought justice through civil suits against both the British Ministry of Defense and Chief Constable, winning damages and a formal Court apology for the RUC’s inadequate investigation. They learned additional details from an Ombudsman Report.
However, all legal attempts to answer questions about collusion have been frustrated by the British, the AOH says.
More than 25 years after the murder, an Inquest hearing began. However, the Coroner was forced to close the Inquest because the British withheld crucial documents about crown agent involvement. The Coroner said that a Public Inquiry would be the only way for the Brown family to get the truth, and made a formal written request to the then-Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Chris Heaton-Harris.
Both the High Court and Belfast Court of Appeals ordered a Public Inquiry, holding that the ICRIR was incapable of providing a hearing that met the requirements of the European Convention on Human Rights.
Current Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Hilary Benn has thus far refused to comply with these Court orders and plans to go to the London Supreme Court, in hopes that a London Court would favor the ICRIR.
The AOH said: "Hilary Benn’s refusal to comply with court orders directing a Public Inquiry into the murder of Sean Brown has sparked a new crisis in legacy justice.
"The British Secretary was ordered to commence a Public Inquiry into the murder of the Bellaghy Gaelic Association manager after Crown agencies, including the PSNI Constabulary and MI5, forced a halt to Sean Brown’s inquest by refusing to hand over crucial materials about the part played by British state agents."
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