Birmingham bombings
As a Birmingham pub bombings ( English Birmingham pub bombings ) two bombings are on November 21, 1974 English Birmingham referred. Although no one officially confessed to the attacks, they are attributed to the Provisional Irish Republican Army .
background
As part of the IRA's Éire Nua strategy , its struggle for a unified Ireland modeled on the Irish Republic , which previously took place primarily in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland , was extended to the entire United Kingdom . As a result, starting on October 5, 1974, there were numerous bomb attacks, especially in the London area , which claimed numerous lives.
attacks
At 8:11 pm on November 21, 1974, a man with an Irish accent called the local Birmingham Post and reported that a bomb had been placed in the Rotunda office building on New Street, on the ground floor of which was the Mulberry Bush pub . Police went straight to this office building and began searching the upper floors, but failed to clear the busy pub on the first floor. At 8:17 p.m. there was an explosion in this pub, which was completely destroyed.
While police were trying to evacuate New Street and adjacent bars, a second bomb exploded at 8:27 p.m. in the nearby Pub Tavern in the Town . A third bomb placed outside a branch of a local bank failed to detonate. In total, the Birmingham bombings killed 21 people and injured another 182 people, some seriously.
Birmingham Six
Just hours after the bombings, five Northern Irishmen were arrested on a train en route to Belfast . A little later, another man who was friends with the five who had already been arrested was arrested. All six made confessions after interrogation, which resulted in mental and physical torture, and were later sentenced to life imprisonment. It was not until more than 15 years later that the case was renegotiated and the convicts acquitted.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Although the IRA immediately after the attack denied that it was involved in the Birmingham bombings and never officially admitted itself later, a high-ranking IRA member declared in 1985 that the IRA was involved in the attacks. Thirty years after the bombings, Gerry Adams, chairman of Sinn Féin , expressed his regret at the huge loss of life and injuries caused by the Birmingham bombing. (Chrisafis, Angelique. IRA fails to say sorry for Birmingham pub bombs , The Guardian November 22, 2004, Staff. Adams expresses regret for Birmingham pub bombings ( Memento of the original from December 24, 2004 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link became automatic inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this note. Irish Examiner November 22, 2004)
- ↑ Chris Mullin : Chapter 1 . In: Error of Judgment , 3rd. Edition, Poolbeg, 1990, ISBN 1 85371 090 3 , p. 1.
- ↑ Chris Mullin : Chapter 1 . In: Error of Judgment , 3rd. Edition, Poolbeg, 1990, ISBN 1 85371 090 3 , p. 5.
- ^ BBC report on the attacks in Birmingham
- ^ CAIN: Events: Birmingham Six: Ms. Denis Faul and Ms. Raymond Murray. (nd; 1975?) The Birmingham Framework: Six innocent men framed for the Birmingham Bombings
