Interrogation, ill-treatment and intelligence : Northern Ireland, 1971-78

Abstract

Drawing extensively upon archival material, complemented by official reports, legal documents and secondary sources from a range of disciplines, this thesis examines the origins, nature, and outcomes of the alleged systematic controversial treatment of terrorist suspects under internment in Northern Ireland. Its focus is on the use of controversial interrogation techniques, known as the ‘five techniques’, against twelve men arrested under internment in August 1971, and a further two arrested in October of the same year. In short, the thesis is an examination of how these techniques came to be used in Northern Ireland, and the effects of this use, through which it has clear parallels with current debates about controversial interrogation methods used since 11 September 2001.