A WEST Belfast man – who was the last man sentenced to death in the North – has died. Liam Holden, who was 68, died on Thursday. At the age of 18 he was sentenced to hang for the 1972 murder of a British soldier. He had been arrested under the Special Powers Act and claimed that while in custody, he was coerced into confessing to the killing of Private Frank Bell.
British military chiefs are facing further legal action over the alleged use of waterboarding torture techniques on suspects detained during the Troubles in Northern Ireland.
A second case has been brought by a man who claims he was subjected to the deep interrogation method as a teenager in 1972.
Similar proceedings have already been issued by Liam Holden, the last man in Northern Ireland to receive the death sentence.
Their civil actions against the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and the Chief Constable of the PSNI are due for trial at the High Court in June.
Both men allege they were tortured by soldiers during questioning at Black Mountain Barracks in Belfast.