Coroner rules that SAS acted lawfully in employing lethal force against IRA group
A coroner has given his initial findings in the inquest into the deaths of three IRA men shot by the SAS in Northern Ireland during The Troubles.
SAS soldiers were deemed to be “justified” in their use of “lethal force” when they killed three Provisional IRA men in an ambush during The Troubles in Northern Ireland, according to the coroner, Mr. Justice Michael Humphreys.
However, Justice Humphreys strongly criticized the soldiers for erasing a video of the ambush and accused senior British Army officers of supporting this conduct.
On June 3, 1991, Michael “Pete” Ryan, 37, Lawrence McNally, 39, and Tony Doris, 21, were killed in Coagh, County Tyrone, by an SAS team.
The victims’ car collided with another vehicle and a wall and caught fire.
Doris, who was a cousin of Michelle O’Neill, the vice president of Sinn Fein, was connected to the IRA at the time of the incident.
The coroner’s preliminary findings were released on Thursday, pointing out that the original investigation by the Royal Ulster Constabulary into the Coagh incident was inadequate.
Justice Humphreys said that without the inquest, many facts about the case would have remained unknown.
Police Investigation ‘Woefully Inadequate’
The RUC’s investigation was severely lacking, according to Justice Humphreys.
Relatives of the victims believe the men were victims of a “shoot-to-kill” policy by the British Army and that there was no intention to arrest them.
Justice Humphreys addressed this issue at length during his ruling, mentioning intelligence received by the Special Branch about a planned attack by the IRA.
