A court in Belfast has found that the treatment of the so-called 'Hooded Men' at the hands of the British authorities amounted to torture.
The 14 men were hooded, beaten and deprived of sleep, food, and water while being held without trial in the North in 1971.
They have also said they were dangled from a helicopter and forced to listen to loud white noise.
This morning, the Belfast Court of Appeal found that the treatment would be characterised as torture if it happened today.
It is calling for an effective criminal investigation into the incident.
Speaking outside court Francis McGuigan, one of the 'Hooded Men', said, "Todays Judgment makes it expressly clear that the treatment that I suffered at the hands of Ministers was torture and should be investigated by an independent police force."
"I can only hope that this judgment will assist someone somewhere in the world that suffers torture at the hand of their Government"
