The High Court has been told that the Government has not yet made its decision in regards to the case of the so called “hooded men”. The government has said they are unsure whether or not the case should be revisited by the European Court of Human Rights.
It is understood that a previous ruling in 1978 found the men were subjected to inhuman and degrading treatment by the British authorities in the North, but the Strasbourg court strongly rejected their claim that they were tortured.
It is believed that the survivors of the group known as the ‘hooded men’ are trying to persuade the Irish government to apply to the European Court of Human Rights for it to revisit its decision from 1978.
The group claims that new evidence has been found which shows that the British government withheld vital evidence. The deadline for any new case is understood to be this Thursday.
It is also thought that a scheduled court hearing to force a decision either way has been delayed until tomorrow because the men’s lawyers are hopeful the Irish Government will have made a decision by then.
Speaking on the behalf of the group Barrister Ronan Lavery, said that the group have been given assurances that the matter is under “careful and serious” consideration.
Although if the Irish Government does not review their torture claims, the men will apparently proceed with a legal challenge to that decision.