Nelson murder dossier unveiled/Irish News Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit source - "F. Stuart Ross" from the Irish News 14 May, 1999 Nelson murder dossier unveiled: Rights group reveals report EXCLUSIVE By Steven McCaffery DRAMATIC details of the events that led to the murder of solicitor Rosemary Nelson are to be unveiled today. Derry-based human rights group The Pat Finucane Centre is set to publish a comprehensive report tracing the steps it says led to the "demonisation" of the Lurgan solicitor and citing eye-witness claims of a heavy security presence near her home in the days before she was killed. The dossier offers a detailed overview of the events that brought Mrs Nelson to public attention and also claims loyalist threats against her were not adequately addressed by the authorities. The document makes no attempt to single out suspects for the killing. It does, however, raise wide-ranging concerns over the existing investigation into the murder and backs calls from the Nelson family for a fully independent inquiry. Mrs Nelson was killed in a loyalist car bomb attack on March 15 as she drove from her Lurgan home. Drawing on a series of more than 50 interviews carried out at a public meeting in Lurgan with people living near the scene, the dossier lists detailed claims of security force activity in the area in the days before the attack. These include reports of the presence of a helicopter on the night it is believed the bomb which claimed Mrs Nelson's life was placed beneath her car. Colin Port, the deputy chief constable of Norfolk Constabulary drafted in to head the hunt for Mrs Nelson's killers, has already confirmed he is interviewing security force personnel involved in patrols in the area. A spokesman for the Pat Finucane Centre said last night: "We will be presenting our report to human rights groups, non-governmental organisations, the two governments, the media and others. "We would hope that it would be another significant step towards securing an independent inquiry." The dossier points to the dissatisfaction of UN Special Rapporteur Dato Param Cumaraswamy over RUC handling of claims that solicitors, including Mrs Nelson, were being harassed by police officers. It claims her decision to represent a number of republican suspects caused her to be labelled a "Provo solicitor" and argues that this was crucial to the chain of events that led to her murder. The dossier concludes by asking: "There was an unquestionably heavy and unprecedented security presence in the area that weekend. Allegations have been made that members of the security forces colluded in [Mrs Nelson's] murder by providing information and/or safe entry and escape routes. This can neither be proved nor disproved at this point. "What is clear is that the trail which led to her eventual death can be tracked back to the demonisation of an individual." News of the document comes amid preparations for a memorial service in honour of Mrs Nelson in London tomorrow. Actor Adrian Dunbar and a range of politicians and clergy are set to take part in the ecumenical service at the Church of Notre Dame De France. Yesterday Mr Dunbar spoke of Mrs Nelson's murder saying: "It was a gruesome act. This was a woman who after all was a lawyer and if we don't protect people like that there can be no chance of forward movement." Speakers at the service will include Diane Hamill, whose brother Robert was kicked to death by a loyalist mob in Portadown town centre in 1997 and whose family had been represented by Mrs Nelson. ================================================================= NY Transfer News Collective * A Service of Blythe Systems Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us 339 Lafayette St., New York, NY 10012 http://www.blythe.org e-mail: nyt@blythe.org ================================================================= nytire-05.14.99-18:11:59-12662