Friday, May 2, 2014
Gerry Adams, the leader of theIrish republican partySinn Féin, was arrested Wednesday by thePolice Service of Northern Ireland as part of an investigation of the 1972 disappearance and murder ofJean McConville, a mother of ten. McConville was taken from her flat inDivis in westBelfast shortly before Christmas of 1972, then shot. TheIrish Republican Army (IRA) later admitted to the abduction and killing.
A statement from the police said: "Detectives from the serious crime branch investigating the abduction and murder of Jean McConville in 1972 have arrested a 65-year-old man inAntrim. The suspect is currently being interviewed by detectives at the serious crime suite in Antrim police station."
Adams has said he is "innocent of any part" of the murder of McConville: "I believe that the killing of Jean McConville and the secret burial of her body was wrong and a grievous injustice to her and her family. Well publicised, malicious allegations have been made against me. I reject these. While I have never disassociated myself from the IRA and I never will, I am innocent of any part in the abduction, killing or burial of Mrs McConville."
Mary Lou McDonald, vice president of Sinn Féin, said the arrest was politically motivated arguing it was a "concerted and malicious effort to link Gerry Adams to this case for considerable time". The Police Service of Northern Ireland reject this claim.
The Sinn Féin leader's arrest follows the release of audio tapes held byBoston College containing oral history from former members of the republican movement including members of the IRA. A number of arrests have been made following the release of the 'Belfast Project' tapes.
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| This page isarchived, and is no longer publicly editable. Articles presented on Wikinews reflect the specific time at which they were written and published, and do not attempt to encompass events or knowledge which occur or become known after their publication. Got a correction? Add the template {{editprotected}} to thetalk page along with your corrections, and it will bebrought to the attention of theadministrators. Please note that due to ourarchival policy, we will not alter or update the content of articles that are archived, but will only accept requests to make grammatical and formatting corrections. Note that some listed sources or external links may no longer be available online due to age. The text of this article is licensed under the terms of theCreative Commons Attribution 2.5 License |
