Hooded man Kevin Hannaway dies after short illness

Republicans were saddened to learn of the death on January 6 of Kevin Hannaway, Belfast.

“The West Belfast man was one of 14 nationalist men detained during internment in 1971 and brutally tortured by the British regime. They became known as the Hooded Men and were subjected to what was known as the five techniques.

During interrogation the men were hooded, beaten, deprived of sleep, food and water, forced to stand in the stress position and thrown out of helicopters.

The five techniques are a group of interrogation methods developed by the British during the 20th century and are currently regarded as torture. Originally developed by British forces in a variety of 20th-century conflicts, they are most notable for being applied to detainees in the Occupied Six Counties.

In 1976, the European Commission of Human Rights ruled that the five techniques amounted to torture. The case was then referred to the European Court of Human Rights. In 1978, the court ruled that the techniques were “inhuman and degrading” and breached Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights but did not amount to torture.

The Court’s ruling that the five techniques did not amount to torture was later internally cited by the United States to justify its own interrogation methods, which included the five techniques. British agents also taught the five techniques to the forces of Brazil’s military dictatorship.

In 2021, the British Supreme Court ruled that the methods used “would be characterised today” as torture. None of the Hooded Men were convicted of any wrongdoing.

“Comhairle Uladh (Ulster Executive), Sinn Féin Poblachtach sends our deepest condolences to the family of Kevin Hannaway.

“Kevin was a proud Irish Republican anti-imperialist. His life was marked by a strong opposition to the occupation of Ireland and the oppression of its people. Kevin was dedicated to his life’s purpose as an unrepentant revolutionary soldier.”

PRO
Comhairle Uladh (Ulster Executive),
Sinn Féin Poblachtach

CRÍOCH/ENDS