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John Downey has been granted leave to appeal against the decision to extradite him to Northern Ireland.<\/p>\nJohn Downey has been granted leave to appeal against the decision to extradite him to Northern Ireland.<\/p>\n
The 67-year-old, whose trial for the IRA\u2019s Hyde Park bombing collapsed in controversy five years ago, is wanted by prosecutors in Northern Ireland over the murders of two Ulster Defense Regiment soldiers in 1972.<\/p>\n
Downey was arrested at his home in Creeslough, Co Donegal, last October under a European arrest warrant after authorities in Northern Ireland determined they had sufficient evidence to charge him with the murders of Lance Corporal Alfred Johnston, 32, and Private James Eames, 33.<\/p>\n
The soldiers died in a car bomb attack in Enniskillen, Co Fermanagh, in August 1972.<\/p>\n
Ms Justice Aileen Donnelly said today that she granted the appeal to test whether it is an abuse of process to return him to Northern Ireland.<\/p>\n
In 2013, Downey was charged with murdering four British Royal Household Cavalrymen in a bomb in London\u2019s Hyde Park in 1982.<\/p>\n
He was tried at London’s Old Bailey in 2014 but the case dramatically collapsed after it was revealed he had received a written assurance from former British prime minister Tony Blair\u2019s government that he was not actively wanted by the authorities.<\/p>\n
The letter was allegedly issued under the terms of the UK’s On The Runs (OTRs) scheme.<\/p>\n
The High Court previously heard claims Mr Downey\u2019s fingerprints were found on adhesive tape on a battery pack used in the Enniskillen attack.<\/p>\n
The court was told the tape was lost for some two years.<\/p>\n
It was also alleged police in the UK attempted to fabricate photo-fit evidence using a picture taken from Downey\u2019s house.<\/p>\n
Garnet Orange SC, for Downey, previously told the court there were \u201ccredible attempts\u201d to \u201cfabricate visual identification evidence\u201d in relation to the 1982 offences.<\/p>\n
The court was told members of An Garda Siochana \u201cunlawfully\u201d removed pictures of Downey from his home and passed them to the authorities in the UK.<\/p>\n
These pictures, Mr Orange said, were used to create an image of Downey as a suspect in the Hyde Park bombing.<\/p>\n
Mr Orange told the court today: \u201cThere are questions raised regarding the role of members of An Garda Siochana and also the strange reality that the evidence obtained against the respondent was obtained by catastrophic failures on part of various Northern Ireland authorities who are seeking the extradition of Mr Downey in order to prosecute him.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is a larger picture that simply cannot be ignored and this is one that must be dealt with in the context of whether public interest is best served in the surrender of Mr Downey.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor instance, the trial in the UK in 2014 was stopped on the grounds it would be contrary to public interest if it was allowed to proceed.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s hard to see how the public interest could really be any different to the public interest that the applicant raises.\u201d<\/p>\n
He told the court if a member of the public were made aware of the current court matters they would have \u201cgrave concerns\u201d as to whether public interest has been served.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe public interest is probably best served by the public having confidence in the integrity of the extradition process, particularly where the person is an Irish citizen, a man in his late 60s, being prosecuted for matters which are historic.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe only bodies who stand to benefit from the catastrophic failures are the very bodies who caused the catastrophic failures.<\/p>\n
“The reality is, even if he were convicted of these offences, the maximum period of time he would serve would be two years<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is something that cannot be ignored.\u201d<\/p>\n
Downey remains on continuing bail.<\/p>\n