A PROMINENT supporter of the dissident republican movement in the North was rearrested by police in Derry yesterday, minutes after she was released on bail from police custody.
Marian McGlinchey, nee Price, appeared before the Magistrates’ Court charged with addressing a meeting the purpose of which was to encourage support for a proscribed organisation, namely the IRA.
The 57-year-old defendant, of Stockman’s Avenue in Belfast, denies committing the offence at the city cemetery in Derry on Easter Monday. The charge relates to a commemoration rally organised by the 32 County Sovereignty Movement of which the defendant is secretary.
Her solicitor Peter Corrigan told District Judge Barney McElholm that his client’s licence had been revoked by Secretary of State Owen Paterson following her arrest in Belfast at the weekend.
The defendant was released from prison on a lifelong licence under the terms of the Belfast Agreement. She was serving a life sentence for her role in the Provisional IRA’s bomb attack on the Old Bailey in London in 1973.
“The Secretary of State last night revoked her licence. I believe this is not lawful and it drives a coach and horse through the presumption of innocence,” Mr Corrigan said.
In a statement to the media, Mr Paterson said he had revoked the licence using powers conferred on him from Westminster in the Life Sentences (Northern Ireland) Order 2001. “My priority is the safety of the people of Northern Ireland. The government will not hesitate to use all the powers at its disposal under the law to counter the residual terrorist threat,” he said.
At the court a member of the PSNI’s major investigations team told the district judge that the charge, which was a holding charge, related to the defendant “holding a piece of paper for a masked man who read out a statement on behalf of the IRA”.
The detective sergeant said that “in the course of that statement he threatened assassination against anyone from the nationalist or republican community who may be perceived by the IRA to be a traitor.
“There were also threats within the speech against members of the republican movement involved in criminal acts who would claim the label of being members of the IRA. There were also threats in relation to the continuance of a military campaign.”
The police witness said the defendant had stated that she had no knowledge that a masked man would be present at the event nor did she know of the content of the statement.
The officer said he opposed bail because the Secretary of State had revoked the defendant’s licence and because he believed she might abscond.
“The 32 County Sovereignty Movement have openly said they will carry out acts to disrupt events occurring in the near future like the royal visit and that may mean future public order events which the defendant might involve herself in,” he added.
Applying for bail, Mr Corrigan said that at the city cemetery Easter Monday event “a masked man walked towards her and asked her to hold the written statement because it was very windy. We must not have a system in this country where there is internment on remand, we must have a system of due process.”
The district judge said while the contents of the speech were “vile and objectionable in the very least”, there was no evidence that the defendant had prior knowledge of its content nor had she any record for absconding.
He released the defendant on her own bail of £5,000 together with two sureties, each of £10,000. She is due to appear in court again for a video link hearing on June 9th.
As the defendant was driven from the courthouse in a police car, about 50 supporters heckled dozens of police officers who were on duty both inside and outside the court building.