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REVLEFT
The Irish News 17/11/08

History was made in 1998 when the gates of the Maze prison opened and republican and loyalist inmates were freed under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement.

But 10 years on from their early release – agreed as part of efforts to consign the Troubles to history – there are around 50 republican prisoners in jails north and south of the border.

Maghaberry jail has 31 inmates housed in its republican ‘separated’ unit.

The only one to have had his early release licence revoked is John Brady from Strabane.

Released from the Maze in 1998 after serving seven years for the murder of RUC reservist David Black in 1989, he was arrested in 2004 and charged with allegedly attempting to kill a part-time RIR soldier two years earlier.

The charge was later dropped by the Public Prosecution Service, which had been due to rely on controversial ‘low copy number’ DNA evidence but he remains in jail for the previous life sentence.

The majority of republican prisoners in Maghaberry are affiliated with Continuity IRA, with a handful of Real IRA prisoners also held on the wing.

Also in Maghaberry are two of the four men convicted of the Provisional IRA kidnapping of veteran republican Bobby Tohill in 2004.

Tommy Tolan and Gerard McCrory, both from west Belfast, handed themselves in to police in January 2007 after a period of being unlawfully at large.

In Portlaoise prison in Co Laois, the vast majority of republican inmates are affiliated to the Real IRA.

The most high-profile of these is Michael McKevitt, serving a 20-year jail term for directing terrorism. One of the founding members of the Real IRA, the veteran republican has since turned his back on his former associates.

There are eight alleged INLA prisoners in Portlaoise, the majority on remand awaiting trial for charges ranging from membership of the organisation to possession of weapons.

Armagh man Declan Duffy is among them, having been arrested earlier this year and charged with membership.

West Belfast man Gerard Mackin has also been in Portlaoise and is now on trial in Dublin’s Special Criminal Court charged with the murder of Eddie Burns in the city in March last year.

Two other republican prisoners are being held in jails outside of Ireland.

Dundalk man Michael Campbell (36) is being detained in Lithuania on suspicion of buying firearms and explosives for the Real IRA.

The last republican prisoner in England, Noel Maguire, was convicted along with four other men for a Real IRA bombing campaign and is serving 22 years in a prison in Cambridgeshire.

Earlier this month the Republic’s justice minister Dermot Ahern turned down a request by Maguire for transfer to Portlaoise, saying he had failed to prove he has family links in the jurisdiction.

British National Party Membership List (3.4MB)

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Leaked BNP list has 39 NI people

BBC
19 Nov 2008

Thirty-nine people with addresses in Northern Ireland are on the list of British National Party members leaked on the internet.

The BNP has said the personal details of about 10,000 of its members have been posted on the internet.

Two people in the Republic of Ireland were also on the list.

Regional organiser Kieran Dinsmore said NI members were being advised to “take reasonable steps” to increase their personal security.

“We’ve had death threats from various republican elements in the country (in the past),” he said.

“We are concerned about our details being put out over the web.”

One of the members whose details were leaked was a serving soldier in Northern Ireland.

The soldier is a member of the Black Watch regiment, whose address is given as Palace Barracks in Holywood.

The regiment was garrisoned at the barracks until the early part of this year.

Another BNP member whose details were leaked was Sandy Baxter, a former police officer who lives in Portstewart.

“I’m in a party I firmly believe in and why should I not hold my head high like anyone else,” he said.

Derry Journal
18 November 2008

A group that provides political analysis to the UDA has said the loyalist paramilitary’s Remembrance Day statement -which called on loyalists to be “battle ready” - has been misrepresented.

The initial UDA statement released last week accused republicans of racism, ignorance and bigotry and said the paramilitary group - criticised last week by the Independent Monitoring Commission over its lack of progress on decommissioning - remains ready to face the “republican threat.”

But David Malcolm, the Ulster Political Research Group’s (UPRG) regional secretary in Derry and North Antrim, said the statement reaffirmed the UDA’s commitment to peace and described it as ” a positive development within loyalism.”

He said the UDA statement was not designed to intimidate or threaten.

“The statement clearly says that the battlefield has changed and it also states that the forthcoming battle is one of debate and challenge - and not one of violence.

” Loyalism recognises the right of nationalist/republican citizens to determine their own ideology, aspirations and belief; all this statement does is demand equality for the loyalist/unionist community.”

The UPRG spokesman said it was a social battle that now lay ahead for loyalism.

“We need a cohesive approach to tackling the issues of poor educational achievement with our young males and we need to see more people becoming active in developing their communities.We need to ensure our communities develop the skills to compete for inward investment that provides a social economy in our communities.Loyalists and unionists need to become ready for the social battle that lies ahead,” he said.

Breaking News.ie
19/11/2008

The Government is preparing to introduce a complete ban on privately-held handguns in Ireland.

The Cabinet has agreed to draft new legislation that will stop the granting of licences for such guns in all circumstances.

The 1,900 licences that currently exist will also not be renewed.

Handguns were illegal in Ireland during the Troubles, but the High Court overturned the ban in 2004.

Growing gun violence has led to calls for a ban on the weapons, but shooting enthusiasts say licensed handguns have never been used in a murder in Ireland.

Breaking News.ie
19/11/2008

The alleged former leader of the IRA will go on trial for tax evasion in the non-jury Special Criminal Court.

Even though mistakes were made bringing the prosecution, Dublin’s High Court ruled Thomas “Slab” Murphy did not take the early opportunities open to him to challenge it.

Mr Justice Iarfhlaith O Neill found state lawyers breached Murphy’s rights by giving his solicitor only four minutes’ notice when they applied for the non-jury trial.

The judge said the court order, made in January and containing three technical errors, should stand after the mistakes are corrected.

“I’m satisfied the accused person is entitled to be present and legally represented to ensure this essential step of the process is protected,” the judge said.

The judge added that Murphy’s legal team had not objected to the order between December 19, 2007 and January 10, 2008.

Murphy’s trial on tax evasion has been sent back to Dundalk District Court to amend the order. It is unlikely the prosecution will be challenged.

The 58-year-old republican, who handed over a near €1.2m criminal assets portfolio to authorities last month, faces nine charges of failing to file returns on his income, profits or gains over eight years from 1996.

His lawyers brought a High Court judicial review claiming the four minutes’ notice breached his rights.

The reclusive farmer, of Ballybinaby, Hackballscross, Co Louth, was not in the High Court for the decision.

During yesterday’s judicial review application, the judge heard Murphy was returned for trial to the Special Criminal Court by a judge in Dundalk on Thursday January 10.

The following afternoon the state moved to amend the order and fixed a special hearing at the district courthouse in the town for 9am on Monday, January 14.

Counsel for Murphy said his client’s solicitor, Paul Tiernan, was unaware of the court listing until 8.56am on the Monday morning when he was called by a state lawyer.

It emerged two faxes about the hearing were sent to Mr Tiernan’s office after it had closed at 5pm on the previous Friday.

The High Court was told that, despite objections by Mr Tiernan, the hearing went ahead and the amended order was approved.

Barrister Michael O’Higgins, senior counsel for Murphy, claimed the state acted in a manner which was “unfair, unjust and unreasonable”.

He argued the move was a breach of statute and Murphy’s constitutional rights, and the order made in Dundalk was invalid as it proceeded in their absence.

The judicial review was taken against the Special Criminal Court and Judge Flan Brennan in a bid to quash the order and have the case returned to the District Court.

Mr Justice O’Neill accepted Murphy’s lawyers should have been in court but also said they had opportunities to challenge the order for the Special Criminal Court trial between December 19, 2007 and January 10, 2008.

The state maintained the court order was valid and amendments were made after a clerical error.

Last month Murphy, his brothers Frank and Patrick, and the Ace Oils fuel company agreed to give up cash, cheques and properties to Irish and British revenue officers after they were targeted over a massive smuggling racket operating on both sides of the Irish border.

More than €625,000 in cash and cheques were confiscated in Ireland while nine properties in north west England worth £445,000 (€573,000 euro) were recovered by UK authorities.

Gardai said the settlement was the culmination of a global crime and fraud investigation into the proceeds of crime.

BBC
18 Nov 2008

The police team investigating unsolved murders of the Troubles era have been told their funding for the next year has been secured.

The 180-strong Historical Enquiries Team had faced a £1.5m shortfall ahead of its new budget, due on 1 April.

The team is investigating unsolved Troubles era murders

Some members feared they would temporarily lose their jobs after promised additional cash was withdrawn.

However, the NIO said there was no question of funding being cut and cash would be supplied for the next year.

“The position always was that there was no question of money being cut,” a spokesperson said.

“We have always said that we will try to find a way to resolve this situation.

“HET are now assured that they will have adequate resources to enable them to complete their programme of work this year.”

The Historical Enquiries Team was set-up three years ago and given a budget of £34m over six years to examine more than 3,200 deaths.

BBC
18 Nov 2008

A man held in County Monaghan in connection with the murder of south Armagh man Paul Quinn has been released.

The man, who is in his 30s, was taken into custody by gardai on Sunday evening.

Mr Quinn, who was 21, was beaten to death at farm buildings near Castleblayney in County Monaghan in October 2007.

Gardai have renewed their appeal for information.

News Letter
19 November 2008

A SENIOR police officer has had to pull out of a major conference in Belfast due to a new threat to PSNI personnel from dissident republicans.

Assistant Chief Constable Drew Harris had been due to speak at an anti-drugs conference in Belfast but was forced to withdraw after senior officers warned police personnel to be on full alert.

Conference organiser Tim Hollis informed delegates at the Europa Hotel of the development, but insisted there was no specific threat agains Mr Harris.

“There is a heightened security threat for colleagues from the PSNI,” he said.

“Drew Harris has had to attend to that. Some of the threats from the past still remain.”

In recent months, dissidents have made numerous unsuccessful attempts to murder PSNI officers, particularly in the west of the Province.

This week, Chief Constable Sir Hugh Orde reiterated his claim that dissidents were exploiting the recent political vacuum at Stormont