FORMER IRA prisoner Richard O’Rawe says he does not know if British authorities will pursue him over his participation in the Boston College Tapes project.
Speaking to The Irish Post, O’Rawe said he was concerned for his personal safety after being branded a snitch in Belfast.
“I’ve been branded a tout which is a monstrous lie, but it is very intimidating and very worrying,” he said, adding that he was unaware of any arrangement between Britain and the US which could lead to his testimony being seized, when he originally participated in the project.
“I don’t know where I am,” he said in respect of the British authorities. “It’s so fluid.”
During the 1981 Hunger Strikes in the Maze Prison, O’Rawe acted as a spokesman for the protesting Republican prisoners in the jail.
He alleged that in 1981 the IRA army council blocked a deal that possibly could have saved the lives of six of the 10 hunger strikers who died in the fast - a claim rejected by Sinn Féin.
His solicitor revealed that Mr O’Rawe is now set to sue Boston College over the oral history of the Troubles project.
Solicitor Kevin Winters said that “Boston College touts” graffiti that had appeared recently in several parts of west Belfast had made Mr O’Rawe, the lead participant in the legal case, suffer “serious intimidation and distress”, The Irish Times reported.
“Mr O’Rawe engaged with the Boston project in good faith in terms of making a positive contribution to the historical narrative of the conflict,” said Mr Winters.
Mr O’Rawe said the most of his testimony involved his time as a Republican prisoner in the H Blocks. He could not comment any further on the information he disclosed.
Journalist Ed Moloney conducted interviews as part of a Boston College project. Those who participated in the project did so under the premise that their testimonies would not be released until after they died said O’Rawe.
***This piece was amended on May 18 to note that Ed Moloney did not set up the Boston College project but worked on it.***
