February 17, 2011
By Staff Reporter
Martin Doherty, 49, known in court as “PIRA 9,” shouted on hearing the sentence: “I am the only man to be punished for Bloody Sunday. It’s a disgrace.” After declining an opportunity to “reconsider his position,” he began his sentence on Monday.
The application to punish the man for contempt of the tribunal was brought on behalf of its chairman, Lord Saville. The inquiry had received evidence from British informer, Paddy Ward, that the man had been actively involved in the events of Bloody Sunday.
Lord Saville’s lawyer, Bernard McCloskey, said the evidence was that the man had been seen firing at soldiers and that Ward and others gave him covering fire to enable him to make his escape.
Defense lawyer John Coyle referred to a letter written to the inquiry by solicitor Denis Mullan quoting “PIRA 9” as saying Ward’s evidence contained such a degree of inaccuracy that it did not merit a response from him.
The lord chief justice, Sir Brian Kerr, said the court was concerned about having to send a person to jail with no previous convictions and adjourned the hearing to allow “PIRA 9” to reconsider his position. When the hearing resumed, the solicitor said his client’s attitude was unaltered.
Veteran republican Raymond McCartney said the fact that the witness was the only person to be imprisoned as a result of the events in Derry in 1972 is a disgrace.
“This person took a conscious decision that the Saville Inquiry, as set up by a British government, would not serve the best interests of the families of the Bloody Sunday victims or the general population of Derry,” he said. “As an individual he is entitled to his opinion.
“If the British judicial system had pursued those responsible for the murder and mayhem that occurred on the streets of Derry with the same determination as that applied to prosecuting this person then we would not have had the need for an Inquiry.
“As far as the people of Derry are concerned, those that treated the Bloody Sunday Inquiry with contempt were the British government and its agencies in their continued refusal to furnish Saville with all relevant material in their possession.”
His view was echoed by Sinn Fein’s Martin McGuinness. “The fact that a Belfast Court decided to imprison Derry republican Martin Doherty for his refusal to cooperate with the Saville Inquiry is absolutely scandalous,” he said. “British politicians and members of the British forces were allowed to treat the Inquiry from its inception with utter contempt without even an admonishment from either the Inquiry itself or from the British Prime Minister. The Saville Inquiry should have this decision reversed immediately.”