Patrick Finucane

On February 12, 1989, Patrick Finucane, a high-profile human rights lawyer, was gunned down in front of his family at their home in Belfast, Northern Ireland. During his career, Finucane had been involved in many politically sensitive cases and had regularly represented people arrested under the emergency or anti-terrorism laws.

The Ulster Freedom Fighters, a loyalist paramilitary organization, claimed responsibility for Finucane’s murder. Since his death, however, there have been persistent reports that members of the UK security forces not only colluded with the loyalist paramilitaries who killed him, but actively targeted Finucane for assassination.

Since the killing, the Lawyers Committee has conducted a series of missions to Northern Ireland to investigate these allegations. The evidence we have amassed – from sources both confidential and public – points heavily to the involvement of both the police and the army in the murder of Patrick Finucane. We believe that only a full, independent public inquiry can unearth the complete scope of security force involvement in the murder.

Read LCHR report on the case

Rosemary Nelson

Rosemary Nelson, an internationally acclaimed human rights activist and lawyer, was murdered on March 15, 2025 in Lurgan, Northern Ireland. She died after a booby-trapped bomb exploded underneath her car. Rosemary Nelson was in many ways a successor to Patrick Finucane, the Belfast human rights lawyer murdered in 1989. Like Finucane, Nelson was among the small group of lawyers in Northern Ireland who were willing to take on politically sensitive cases against the difficult backdrop of the “Troubles.” Like Finucane, Nelson represented people who had been arrested under the emergency or anti-terrorism laws.

Before she was murdered, Rosemary Nelson repeatedly claimed that officers of the Royal Ulster Constabulary had harassed her, assaulted her, and threatened her life. Human rights groups, including the Lawyers Committee, documented this abuse and called on the UK government to protect her, as did the UN Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers. However, this protection was not forthcoming. In addition, the UK government has prevented a public inquiry into allegations of security force collusion in the Nelson murder. The Lawyers Committee is actively campaigning for a full, independent public inquiry to be established in her case.

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Rosemary Nelson