The arrest at an election centre of an independent republican candidate accused of attempted murder was an abuse of the democratic process and a return to the dark ages of political policing, a lawyer argued today.
Police relied on evidence gathered in 1994 and statements from two witnesses to charge Gerry McGeough (46) and Vincent McAnespie (44) with attempting to shoot dead a part-time Ulster Defence Regiment soldier in June 1981.
Mr McGeough, a Sinn Fein defector who stood unsuccessfully for election to the Assembly, and Mr McAnespie, husband of a Monaghan Sinn Fein councillor, were arrested within an hour of each other last Thursday.
Mr McGeough's lawyer told Enniskillen Magistrates Court: "It shows that the evidence in this case is completely untenable, it is a political prosecution. "[The investigating officer] knows that there is no evidence from 1994 and that there is no case.
"If there was no case in 1994, and there was no case in 1981, then there is no case today."
Standing for Fermanagh and South Tyrone, Mr McGeough, from Carrycastle Road, Gortmerron, Dungannon, Co Tyrone, has been in Northern Ireland for some time and conducted a high profile election campaign which netted only 814 votes.
He was arrested when he left the Omagh counting centre. Mr McAnespie, from Aghabo Close, Aughnacloy, Co Tyrone, was arrested near his home.
Both men deny three charges of attempting to murder former soldier Sammy Brush - now a Democratic Unionist councillor in Tyrone - conspiracy to murder and possession of two revolvers and ammunition with the intent to endanger life.
Detective Chief Inspector James Harkness said he believed he could connect both accused with the charges, adding there was a "voluminous" folder of evidence.
"I became aware that Mr McGeough was in Omagh on March 8 2007 and as a result of that I conducted an arrest," he said.
"There was a communication received in 1995 from the Director of Public Prosecution that should Mr McGeough come to Northern Ireland he should be arrested."
The suspects were quizzed extensively at Antrim Serious Crime Suite. But Mr McAnespie's lawyer John Fahy said they were relying on two witness statements compiled relatively recently to charge his client.
"This is the whole evidence which links these men to the charges against them ... It appears to me to be a throw back to very dark days which we thought were gone."
He added that McAnespie, husband of Sinn Fein councillor Brenda McAnespie and brother of Aidan, who was controversially shot dead by the security forces at a check point in Aughnacloy, had been instrumental in pushing the peace process forward and was well respected in the local community.
His colleague Mr Corrigan accused the police of aiding a prosecution based on malfeasance and said he would be lodging an abuse of process application to halt proceedings.
He said his client had been living in Northern Ireland for the last 10 years and had been prominent in the community and in politics, appearing on television and said it was implausible the investigating officer should not have been aware of his presence.
"Our case is very much that this is an assault on the electoral process," he added.
There was a heavy security presence outside the court, with up to a dozen riot police standing between supporters of the accused and the police cars carrying them to court.
Both men were remanded in custody to appear at Dungannon Magistrates Court on April 4th.