The results of a fresh investigation into the death of Samuel Devenney, who died three months after he was assaulted in his Derry home by members of the RUC in 1969, will be released following a press conference by the North's Police Ombudsman, Ms Nuala O'Loan, in Derry this morning.
Father of nine Samuel Devenney died on July 16th, 1969, three months after he and other members of his family were assaulted by RUC officers who broke into their Bogside home on April 19th, 1969, in pursuit of a group of youths.
Mr Devenney, who was an undertaker, sustained multiple injuries in the assault and also suffered a heart attack. An inquest into his death said he died of natural causes, but the Devenney family subsequently received compensation for the attack.
An investigation was carried out by a team of Scotland Yard detectives, headed by Sir Arthur Young. No charges were ever brought against the officers involved in the assault because of what Sir Arthur described as "a conspiracy of silence".
Yesterday a spokeswoman for the Pat Finucane Centre in Derry said the death of Mr Devenney and the failure to prosecute the responsible police officers was "a major contributory factor in the escalation of violence in Derry and elsewhere and the worsening of relations between the nationalist community and the RUC".
She said the Police Ombudsman was not entitled, under legislation, to publicly release her full document. However, the Devenney family say they "have decided to put the document into the public domain".