THREE more Portlaoise prisoners involved in the controversy about the composition of the Special Criminal Court got High Court leave yesterday to seek their release. Eleven others have already been granted similar orders.
Mr Patrick Gageby SC for the three men said the Minister for Justice and the Attorney General were aware that orders made by the Special Criminal Court were improperly constituted.
The three men are: Bryan McNally, Gabriel Cleary and Jeremiah Sheehy. Mr Gageby said they were brought before the Special Criminal Court at a time when Judge Dominic Lynch's term was terminated.
Mr Justice Carney said he would direct an inquiry under Article 40. He directed that the men be produced before the court on Monday.
Mr Gageby said somebody had decided to keep the three prisoners in custody in the early hours of November 7th until such time as there were sufficient police and army personnel within the prison to effect a fresh arrest.
Mr Gageby read an affidavit by Mr Robert Eager, solicitor on behalf of the three men, who said it appeared from a statement by the Minister that Judge Lynch had been removed by Government order on August 1st and, therefore, that the entirely of what took place in the Special Criminal Court in relation to the three men was void.
Mr Eagar said his clients had instructed him that in the early hours of November 7th the Minister and/or the prison governor purported to effect some form of release of the three men, who were rearrested, brought to Dublin and charged afresh before the Special Criminal Court. They were then brought back to Portlaoise.
He believed that the detention of the applicants was unlawful because their release was deliberately and consciously delayed so as to permit the authorities to marshal their forces to rearrest them.