§ 85. Mr. K. Robinsonasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if, in view of the outcome of the trial of Nicos Samson, he will now institute a judicial inquiry into the many allegations of ill-treatment of prisoners that have been made against the police and security forces in Cyprus.
§ 88. Mr. Donnellyasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he is aware of the statements made by Mr. Justice Shaw in the case of Nicos Samson; and what disciplinary action he is taking against the members of the Cyprus police force who are concerned.
§ 96 and 97. Mr. F. Noel-Bakerasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies (1) if he will order an investigation into all cases of the ill-treatment of prisoners and detainees in Cyprus in view of recent findings by courts of law;
if he will suspend from duty all police officers, interrogators, and other officials in Cyprus whose conduct towards prisoners has been criticised by judges, pending a full investigation of each case.
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§ Mr. Profumo:I am aware of the statements made by Mr. Justice Shaw in the case of Nicos Sampson. The judge has stated in court that the manner in which Sampson was made to travel from the place where he was arrested, and the failure to provide him with dry clothes and medical attention on arrival at Nicosia, amounted to treatment which should not have been given to any person. But all other allegations of ill-treatment and torture were found untrue. Mr. Justice Shaw also made a further statement on the 31st May, a copy of which I am circulating in the OFFICIAL. REPORT. My right hon. Friend has been in communication with the Governor on this matter, and he does not consider that the facts established in any of the cases which have come to notice indicate any need for disciplinary action.
At the same time Sir John Harding is naturally concerned to clear, beyond all reasonable doubt or suspicion, the good name of the Cyprus police force and the security forces, and has informed my right hon. Friend that he is giving consideration to how this might best be done. My right hon. Friend proposes to await the Governor's report, when he will be ready to make a further statement. In the meantime, I do not think there is any case for suspending any officials from duty.
Following is text of statement for inclusion in the OFFICIAL REPORT:
In the Times of Cyprus of 29th May, under the heading "Out of the mouths of Government spokesmen" reference was ma de to the case of The Queen against Nicos Sampson which I recently tried. The writer of this article states that a certain passage in my judgment indicated that I believed that the police consciously intended to cause Sampson to talk and he also states that he does not think that my ruling wholly acquits the police of the charges of deliberate ill-treatment after Dhali. My ruling must speak for itself and I do not consider it satisfactory that anyone should try to interpret it by quoting extracts and giving their views as to what I meant. The proper course is to publish the ruling in full. I am glad to see that this is now being done. There was a clear finding that apart from the circumstances in which Sampson was made to travel from Dhali to Nicosia and the failure to provide him with dry clothes and medical attention on his arrival at Nicosia, there was no ill-treatment of any kind and all allegation s of torture were found to be untrue.
§ 87. Mr. Donnellyasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies how many complaints have been received by the Cyprus 102W Government alleging misconduct by the Cyprus police force; and what answers have been given.
§ Mr. Profumo:There has been a general campaign in Cyprus of vilification of the police and security forces, both in letters and in E.O.K.A. leaflets, and it is impossible to specify a particular number of complaints. But all serious complaints arc scrupulously investigated by the Cyprus authorities and answers sent accordingly.