The Minister for Defence, Mr O'Dea, has ordered a reopening of Government files into the murder of two Irish soldiers in Lebanon 25 years ago with a view to examining whether the chief suspect for the killings can be prosecuted either in Ireland or abroad.
Privates Thomas Barrett and Derek Smallhorne were shot dead in 1980 at the village of At Tiri in south Lebanon after their United Nations convoy was stopped by armed members of a Lebanese militia.
The Army authorities and the Department of Defence have identified the chief suspect for the murders as a Lebanese-born, naturalised US citizen now living in Dearborn, Michigan.
A spokeswoman for the Minister told The Irish Times last night that Mr O'Dea had taken a personal interest in the case since being appointed and had ordered a re-examination of official files on the murders.
She said the Minister had also contacted the office of the Attorney General and the Department of Foreign Affairs with a view to exploring whether the suspect could be prosecuted either in Ireland or abroad.
Mr O'Dea told the Dáil during the week that the advice of the Attorney General was awaited and that he would "ensure that no stone was left unturned in seeking justice for Private Barrett and Private Smallhorne".
Background briefing material provided by the Department of Defence for the Minister in recent days stated that the Attorney General had previously advised a number of years ago that an international convention on the safety of UN personnel which came into force in 1999 did not apply retrospectively and provided no assistance in the prosecution of the chief suspect by Ireland. The briefing material stated that the Attorney General had also advised that any extradition proceedings would have to be initiated by the country where the crime was committed, namely Lebanon, and that there was no extradition treaty between the US and Lebanon.
However, it is understood that Mr O'Dea has now asked the Attorney General to look again at the case.
"We have compiled all information available from the Defence Forces, the Department of Foreign Affairs and departmental files and provided it to the AG to see if there is the possibility of mounting any case against [the identified suspect] or if there might be further evidence which we may be able to obtain and which might support a case.
"The AG has reviewed a submission from his staff and has referred it back for further investigation, including reviewing the applicability of the provisions of the Geneva Conventions," the briefing document stated.
