Man bailed in McCartney murder probe

Published Friday, 01 March 2013
Comments
Toggle font size
Print

A senior republican charged with offences arising out of the Robert McCartney murder investigation must not contact any witnesses in the case, a court has ordered.

Video available to UK viewers only.
We’re sorry. This video is unavailable from your location.

To find out if this video is available to you, we need to know what region you live in. Please enter your postcode below (including space).

Frequently Asked Questions

Thank you for confirming your region.

Frequently Asked Questions

We are sorry but this video is not available on u.tv in your region. Your region is listed below.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are you in Northern Ireland?

1. Why is my postcode required?

We are asking you to insert your postcode before watching some videos to confirm you can access the video content via u.tv.

This is because some videos on u.tv are only available in Northern Ireland.

Don't worry, we won't store or use this information for any other purpose.

If you are not in Northern Ireland, the content may be available to watch at itv.com or stv.tv.

2. Why am I directed to itv.com or stv.tv when I try to view certain clips?

The videos, which are not available on u.tv to users outside Northern Ireland, will be available to those users on itv.com (for users in England and Wales) or stv.tv (for most users in Scotland).

We need to know where you are in order to make sure you are getting the right content.

If you think we've got your location wrong, then please click here.

Need more help? Contact us

The prohibition was placed on Sean Hughes as part of conditions under which he was granted bail on Friday.

Hughes, 51, from Aghadavoyle Road in Jonesborough, Co Armagh is charged with IRA membership and addressing a meeting to encourage support for the illegal organisation.

The alleged offences, said to date back to eight years ago, are linked to a suspected IRA internal investigation following Mr McCartney's killing.

The 33-year-old father of two, from Belfast's Short Strand, was stabbed to death outside a city centre bar in 2005.

Hughes, who was arrested on Thursday, is the second leading republican to be arrested in connection with the case.

Padraic Wilson, 53, from Andersonstown, west Belfast, faces similar charges.

Neither man is accused of having anything to do with the murder.

A Sinn Féin delegation including MP Conor Murphy was present at the city's Magistrates' Court as Hughes made his first appearance.

Prosecutors revealed that bail had been agreed in the case.

District Judge Mervyn Bates then agreed to release the accused on certain conditions.

Hughes was ordered to stay at his bail address, report to police weekly and must not attempt to contact prosecution witnesses or complainants in the case.

A £1,000 surety is also to be lodged as part of the arrangements.

Hughes is due to appear again alongside his co-accused on 15 March.

Outside the court Mr Murphy hit out at the decision to charge Hughes.

"This isn't about justice for the family of Robert McCartney or attempting to prosecute those who killed him," he said.

"You can clearly see the political nature of this arrest and how it was timed, it is a charade and it is not about finding justice for anyone and I think those involved in political policing need to be stopped."

© UTV News
Comments Comments
11 Comments
william in coleraine wrote (79 days ago):
would love to see unrealistic or any other republican explain to me why this man was allowed to be released on bail but willie frazer and jamie brson are sent to jail for slowing down traffic. no fan of jamie and willie but im failing to see the equality and justice at all. sad day for this country
i love the p.s.n.i. in ulster wrote (79 days ago):
eamo, lets face it, your anti police, you have not even got the guts to state how you really feel,if you break the law it does not matter who you are, you go to jail, end of, no more poor me.
Gary in Cloughoge wrote (79 days ago):
Innocent until proven guilty
joe in belfast wrote (79 days ago):
Sean Hughes was granted bail, yet willie frazer is remanded. it seems the courts are just as one sided as that 2nd class police force. disgrace....
Steve in Londonderry wrote (79 days ago):
So, let me get this straight.....A person charged for protesting about the removal of the flag from City Hall is remanded in custody. Whereas, a person charged with membership of a terrorist organisation and in connection with murder gets bail!!!!!
POST A COMMENT:
Name:  
Email address*:    
Location:  
Validation:
House Rules:  
Your Comment:  
[All comments are moderated and will not appear immediately. Your name, location and comment will be displayed on this page if your post passes moderation.]
MOST POPULAR GALLERIES
UVF centenary parade
Sat 20 April 2013
BGT auditions - Week 2
Sat 20 April 2013