The family of murdered south Armagh man, Paul Quinn, have said they are deeply dissatisfied with the response of Sinn Féin president, Gerry Adams, to their son's death.
The Quinns were speaking to the Sunday Tribune after receiving a letter from Adams whom they accused of criminalising their son and adding to their grief.
Quinn, 21, from Cullyhanna, was lured to a farm near Oram, Co Monaghan, where he was beaten to death by up to eight men with iron bars and nail-studded cudgels in October.
Republican sources told the Sunday Tribune that the attack was ordered by the 'officer commanding' the Provisional IRA in south Armagh and approved by an army council member from the area. Quinn had been involved in several confrontations with Provisional IRA-related figures and their associates.
Sinn Féin has described the murder as a falling out between "criminals" and "fuel-launderers". In a letter to Quinn's parents, Stephen and Briege, Adams expressed his condolences over the "dreadful murder" which he said deserved "the strongest condemnation".
Anyone with information should contact the Police Service of Northern Ireland or gardai and no effort should be spared in ensuring those responsible faced "due process", he said.
However, Adams continued: "I note from some press reports that Paul's father is reported as accusing me of 'blackening' your son's name with allegations of criminality.
"I wish to assure you that at no point have I said anything which should be misconstrued in this way. In my remarks to the media after his murder, I said that, in my view, his death was linked to fuel-smuggling involving criminals."
Paul Quinn's father Stephen said: "Gerry Adams' words offer our family no comfort, indeed they have increased our distress. Far from withdrawing his party from the position that our son was a criminal, he has actually reinforced that position and repeated the allegations. Paul was not a criminal and his murder had nothing to do with criminality."
In his letter, Gerry Adams told the Quinns he was confident there was "no republican involvement" in their son's murder. Stephen Quinn said: "We strongly challenge that.The world and his wife know that our son's murder was Provisional IRA linked. Gerry Adams' denial is unbelievable. We want the truth about what happened to our son and we won't be going away until we get it."
Over 200 people attended a meeting of the Quinn support group in Cullyhanna last week. Another meeting is due to be held in Crossmaglen on Thursday night.
