06/04/2005

EU President ‘impressed’ with McCartney family

The President of the European Parliament has praised the family of murdered Belfast man Robert McCartney saying he was “deeply impressed” with the bravery shown in their fight for justice.

Josep Borrell met three of the McCartney sisters for around 20 minutes on Wednesday and said that “violence must be fought and condemned in all countries, by all means”.

"I am deeply impressed by the bravery they show in standing up to impunity and by the campaign for justice they are leading,” Mr Borrell said.

"The doors of the European Parliament will always be open to those who need a public tribune to fight any kind of injustice."

Earlier, the McCartney family received a standing ovation after addressing a group of MEPs.

Catherine McCartney told the European Socialist Group that peace deals "meant nothing" if ordinary people could be murdered and justice not be done.

The sisters then met a number of other leading European politicians in their campaign for justice as well as European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso.

Robert McCartney, 33, was stabbed to death following outside a bar in Belfast city centre on January 30.

Mr McCartney’s family blame the IRA for the murder and have called on Sinn Fein to put pressure on those who know anything about the stabbing to come forward to police.

(MB/SP)

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