Heidi Hazell (IRA murder victim)

Heidi Hazell (24 September 1962 – 7 September 1989) was an IRA murder victim. The investigation into the murder of the German citizen was reopened in March 2015. The German Federal Attorney may not regard the Good Friday Agreement as relevant in terms of favourable terms, i.e. reduced prison sentencing for Pira members etc. The murder of Heidi, a German citizen found place in Germany and the country is not bound to the Agreement between Great Britain and the Republic of Ireland.

Heidi Hazell was born in Worpswede, West Germany, as Heidi Schnaars; in 1986 she married a British soldier stationed in the country. On September 7, 1989, in Unna near Dortmund, Hazell was sitting in the family car at her home. She was approached by a member of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) in British Army battle dress, who opened fire with a Kalashnikov automatic weapon, shooting her over a dozen times. The gunman got into a car driven by another person and drove away.

Prime Minister Margret Thatcher branded the attack on Hazell as "evil and cowardly". Speaking during a visit to Forres Academy, she said: "Let this message get across: Terrorists don't hesitate to attack wives and children, people who are totally innocent. That shows the evil nature of the work they do." The Generalbundesanwalt investigated against five individuals, known to be involved in terrorist activity, amongst which was Dessie Grew. The investigation against Grew was closed upon his death on October 9, 1990. It was the second IRA attack in West Germany that week, a previous one resulting in two British soldiers shot near Münster.

In a statement released in Dublin the following day, the IRA said:

An IRA Active Service Unit carried out last night's shooting in West Germany. The woman killed was believed to have been a member of the British Crown Forces garrisoned in Dortmund. It has now emerged that she was the German wife of a British Army staff sergeant. As we intend continuing our campaign until the British Army withdraws from Ireland, the outcome of last night's attack reinforces a warning we gave on Aug. 2, 1988, for civilians to stay well clear of British military personnel. This warning applies to the use of vehicles personally belonging to British soldiers and all modes of military transport.

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