FOR the past 10 years I have been representing suspects detained for questioning about politically motivated offences. All of these clients have been arrested under emergency laws and held in specially designed holding centres. Since I began representing such clients, I have begun to experience some difficulties with the RUC.

These difficulties have involved RUC officers questioning my professional integrity, making allegations that I am a member of a paramilitary group and, at their most serious, making threats against my personal safety, including death threats. All of these threats have been made to my clients in my absence because lawyers in Northern Ireland are routinely and always excluded from interviews with clients in the holding centres.

This behaviour on the part of RUC officers has worsened over the past three years and, most particularly, since I began to represent the residents of the Garvaghy Road area in Portadown. These people objected to an Orange Order march passing through their area from the Drumcree Church. Last year I was present on the Garvaghy Road when the parade was forced through. I had been present on the road for a number of days because I had instructions from my clients to apply for emergency judicial review of any decision allowing the parade to pass through this area.

When the police began to move into the area in force, in the early hours of July 5th, 1997, I approached police lines, identified myself as the lawyer representing the residents. I asked to speak to the officer in charge. At that point I was physically assaulted by a number of RUC officers and subjected to sectarian verbal abuse. I sustained bruising on my arm and shoulder. The officers responsible were not wearing any identification numbers, and when I asked for their names, I was told to "fuck off". I complained about the assault and abuse, but to date there has been no satisfactory response from the RUC.

Since then, my clients have reported a number of incidents - one of being abused by police officers, including several death threats against myself or my family. I have three young children at home and, obviously, that's cause for some great concern. I've also received threatening letters and telephone calls. And although I have tried to ignore these threats, inevitably I have to take account of the possible consequences to my family and also for the staff that I have in the office.

No lawyer in Northern Ireland can forget what happened to Pat Finucane. Nor can they dismiss it from their minds. The allegations of official collusion into his murder are particularly disturbing and can only be resolved by an independent inquiry into his murder . . .

I have also complained about these threats, again without any satisfactory response from the RUC itself. Although complaints against the RUC are supervised by the Independent Commission for Police Complaints, the complaints themselves are investigated by RUC officers. Recently, a senior police officer from England has been called in to investigate my complaints in view of the RUC's apparent inability to handle any complaints of mine impartially . . .

I believe that one of the reasons that the RUC officers have been able to indulge in such systematic abuse against me and other defence lawyers is that the conditions under which they operate allow them to interview clients detained under emergency law despite (sic) any scrutiny.

My access to my clients can be, and has been, deferred for up to 48 hours. I am never allowed to be present when the clients are being interviewed. Interviews are now subject to silent video-recording but are not yet being audio-recorded, although this is due to be introduced. We are not sure when . . .

Another reason why RUC officers abuse me in this way is because they are unable to identify me as a professional lawyer and distinguish me from the alleged crimes and causes of my clients. This tendency to identify me with my clients has led to accusations by RUC officers that I have been involved in paramilitary activity and I deeply and bitterly resent this.

This article is an edited extract of Ms Nelson's testimony on September 29th, 1998, to the Subcommittee on International Operations and Human Rights of the Committee on Inter- national Relations, House of Representatives of the US Congress