'Writ served on McGuinness'
VICTIMS campaigner Willie Frazer has claimed he served a writ on Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness at Stormont.
Sinn Fein, however, denied that any writ had been served, and dismissed the incident.
The disagreement revolves around a brief but dramatic moment in Parliament Buildings, when the FAIR campaigner approached Mr McGuinness in the Great Hall.
Footage of the event taken by FAIR supporters, and seen by the News Letter shortly after it was filmed, shows Mr McGuinness looking up at Mr Frazer with an apparently friendly expression, before Mr Frazer can be seen with his back to the camera as he begins to talk to the Sinn Fein politician.
After a short period, the Sinn Fein minister walks on. Some paper can be seen dropping offscreen, which Mr Frazer says was because he threw the writ at Mr McGuinness's feet.
The Northern Ireland High Court writ names William Frazer as the plaintiff and Martin McGuinness as the defendant.
It says that the claim is for damages as a result of a shooting at Ballymoyer Road, Whitecross, Co Armagh in August 1975.
The incident is a reference to the attack on Mr Frazer's father, James, who was shot dead by the IRA on the 30th of that month. James was a council worker and part-time UDR man who was killed at a farm that he had visited every Saturday since he was a boy. According to the book Lost Lives, this routine made him an easy target.
Willie Frazer told the News Letter yesterday that the shooting was a sample charge in what would be a wider civil action against Mr McGuinness, based on the successful Omagh civil trial.
"There will be several names on the writ by the time it comes to court," he said.
However, Sinn Fein rejected that Mr Frazer had served a legal document.
"Martin McGuinness did not receive a writ from him (Frazer)," a spokesman said.
"He threw some piece of paper at the ground. The only writ Martin McGuinness has is from the Irish people who vote for him."
Explaining his actions later yesterday, Mr Frazer said that he had served the writ due to Mr McGuinness's "involvement in the terrorism of the people of Ulster".
Even if a writ is deemed to have been served, the onus is on Mr Frazer to prove its claims. Like any defendant, however, Mr McGuinness would have to reply to any writ that was served.
According to the documentation that Mr Frazer had on him yesterday, the Deputy First Minister has 14 days to do so.
A legal expert told the News Letter: “Even if only a stunt, it is a serious process and embarrassing for Sinn Fein.”
A defendant can apply to strike out a claim on grounds such as abuse of process or that there is no prospect of the case succeeding.
The legal source said that service of a writ means drawing the other person’s attention to it.
“If he tears it up or throws it on ground he knows it is there.”
In this case, it was Mr Frazer who threw the document at the ground, rather than Mr McGuinness.
To succeed in any action, Mr Frazer will have to prove that Martin McGuinness had some responsibility for the people who killed his father, the legal expert said.
“He will have some difficulty,” the source added.
During testimony to the Bloody Sunday inquiry, Mr McGuinness admitted being second in charge of the IRA in Londonderry at the time of the 1972 killings.
Describing yesterday’s encounter with Mr McGuinness, Mr Frazer said: “He said ‘well Willie?’ But this quickly changed when I said I had a writ for him on behalf of victims over 35 years.”
A FAIR statement added: “On a day when the issue of policing and justice was being discussed, victims chose their time well to raise this matter.
“A dignified protest by victims was also held outside Stormont, while William Frazer struck a blow for justice inside.”
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Sunday 27 May 2012
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