New evidence has been uncovered in relation to the killing of Donegal man Michael Leonard over 50 years ago.
The 24 year old was shot at the border between Pettigo and Belleek in May of 1973 as he was attempting to make his way home to Donegal.
The Leonard family has been tirelessly campaigning for a fresh inquest into his killing.
Now, new documents have revealed that the General Officer Commanding the British Army in Northern Ireland was informed that the Royal Ulster Constabulary deliberately targeted and killed Michael, the day after the murder.
Following specific requests under the Freedom of Information Act by the charity Paper Trail, MOD finally supplied the family with evidence which was not disclosed to them nor the Coroner at the original inquest nearly half a century ago.
The new evidence also includes a secret briefing to Lieutenant General Sir Frank King who was the General Officer Commanding – the man in charge of the British Army in Northern Ireland at the time.
The family believes that all of this new evidence proves beyond any doubt that the RUC did not shoot Michael accidentally with a single shot, but deliberately targeted and shot at the victim three times, fatally wounding him with the third shot.
The archival evidence from secret British Army files included a Director of Operations Brief dated 18th May 1973, the morning after the murder. The Director of Operations was General Officer Commanding (GOC) Lieutenant General Sir Frank King who was in overall charge of the British Army in Northern Ireland. This Brief was a summary of important events over the previous 24 hours compiled especially for the GOC. It states:
“A young Catholic man from Co. Donegal was killed near Belleek. He was recognised by the RUC, was challenged and failed to halt. As he drove off, the RUC fired 2 shots at his car and, in the subsequent chase, the man appeared to draw his weapon so the RUC fired again and fatally wounded him…
Ciarán MacAirt of Paper Trail says It is now up to the Irish Government to stand up for the basic human rights:
