Sean Kelly threatened
Loyalist inmate threatens republican
by Ciarán Barnes
c.barnes@dailyireland.com
Sean Kelly
A loyalist inmate at Maghaberry Prison has been charged with threatening north Belfast republican Sean Kelly.
The 33-year-old was being held in a video-link area of the jail yesterday morning when an Ulster Defence Association prisoner allegedly threatened to kill him.
The Belfast loyalist was being taken to a holding cell when he encountered Mr Kelly. He was later charged under prison rules, although the senior republican made no complaint.
Mr Kelly was returned to jail at the weekend amid claims from the Special Branch that he had breached the terms of his Good Friday Agreement release in 2000.
He had originally been sentenced to nine life sentences for his role in the IRA bombing of a Shankill Road fish shop in 1993 that claimed ten lives.
Senior figures within the Irish government and Sinn Féin have questioned the decision to return Mr Kelly to jail.
Taoiseach Bertie Ahern has asked his officials to probe how Kelly breached the terms of his release.
Senators Martin Mansergh and Maurice Hayes have also sought clarification from Northern secretary of state Peter Hain on why he revoked Mr Kelly’s licence.
Senator Mansergh, who was Northern adviser to three taoisaigh said of the licence suspension: “Few people would disagree with the principle but it is important that such decisions are adequately grounded and open to scrutiny.
“Otherwise it would represent a very arbitrary power.”
Senator Hayes, a former Northern Ombudsman, said: “A lot of people think the grounds for the revocation are decidedly iffy.”
Speaking of Mr Hain, he added: “If he can’t tell us what his reasons are, at least he can tell us he had reasons. “I’ve got the impression that it had to do more with political expediency than with security.”
Mr Hain said that he acted on security intelligence that Mr Kelly had become involved again with paramilitary activity.
Independent Sentence Review commissioners will now consider Mr Kelly’s case and decide whether to revoke the licence he was given.
