'Reparations' call

TERRORISTS who admit to offences which have caused the death of members of the public should have their property seized and distributed to victims as damages and reparations for the suffering they have caused.
By The Newsroom
Published 5th Jul 2010, 16:39 BST
Updated 6th Jul 2010, 15:51 BST

That was the message from local MLA Sam Gardiner, who said the principle of reparation should be part of the legal process.

He said: “The principle of the victim being compensated by the perpetrator of the crime is as old as the legal system itself and was present in the legal system as early as the eighth century.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

"The Assets Recovery Agency, for example, is based on the idea of seizing assets obtained by criminal activity. Coming right up to the present in an atmosphere where Libya is paying damages to the victims of bombings where they supplied the explosive, it is clear that this principle of reparation should be part of the legal process. If the polluter pays for environmental crime, the terrorist should personally and individually pay damages to the victims of the crimes they have committed.”

He went on: “Anyone convicted of a terrorist offence should have all their property seized and distributed to the victims of the crime they have committed. They should not only lose their liberty, they should also lose their entire property.

“Clearly no financial reparation is ever enough to compensate for a human life and it never can be. That does not mean, however, that we should not seize all the assets of terrorists who commit bombings and killings and distribute it to the victims and their families. That is just.”