Declan McGlinchey was held in captivity for over 3 years. Recently he was released due to lack of DNA evidence. This seems to be happening quite a lot recently, Sean Hoey, Chris Ward, Martin Brogan, and Mark Carroll have been through similar ordeals.
Republicans can be arrested and held on remand for 3 or 4 years without being found guilty of any charge, then the case collapses.
Will this also be the case with Colin Duffy and Brian Shivers?
This is a de facto form of Internment and should be highlighted and opposed by all Republicans.
Here's an interesting piece on the Friends of Colin Duffy website
The family of Colin Duffy would like to take this opportunity to wish Declan McGlinchey and his family well for the future following the recent collapse of the British State's case against him. The initial prosecution and charging of Declan as well as the evidential basis for it also needs to be challenged by all human rights organisations and legal bodies. It is not acceptable that it took over three years for Declan to learn of the decision of the Public Prosecution Service (PPS) not to offer any evidence in the Diplock, Non-jury case against him.
Lawyers for Declan said "the weakness of the case" was clear from the beginning.
Niall Murphy of Kevin Winters & Co said: "The evidence has not changed a single iota (since he was charged in 2006) yet the PPS saw fit to sustain the prosecution for a further three years before deciding to withdraw the charges
The Belfast solicitor was right to contend that Declan Mc Glinchey's case has proved, as had others, that evidence based on all forms of Low Template DNA were "now dead ...... and not sufficient for prosecution purposes".
The solicitor is also right when he stated that had Declan McGlinchey lived in England "he would never have been charged" as all of the authorities there "dictate that prosecutions should not be undertaken with this type of evidence alone".
The Public Prosecution Service's actions in this case raises serious questions, not only in relation to this case, but also other high profile DNA cases which have collapsed during trial or discovery, and most importantly pending high profile DNA cases against Colin Duffy and Brian Shivers.Declan Mc Glinchey’s case is merely the latest in a series of failed prosecutions based upon discredited DNA evidence to collapse. The trial of Sean Hoey collapsed after a trial in which there seemed to be strong evidence that evidence had been planted, fabricated or otherwise contaminated.The charges against Mark Carroll and Martin Brogan from South Down were dismissed after their solicitors’ unearthed documents showing attempts at tampering with evidence and falsification of results.Now after three years, a consultation with a 'forensic witness' who presumably was available before charges were brought in 2006 has forced the PPS to concede that there was never any credible evidence against Declan Mc Glinchey.
Colin's family feel that there are a number of important questions arising out of this recent development:
Why has it taken three years for the problems with the DNA evidence to surface?
Are these weaknesses also relevant to the pending cases of Colin Duffy or Brian Shivers?
Are there issues of planting or contamination of evidence either by witnesses or in the lab which should be disclosed to the defence as a matter of justice?
Will Colin Duffy and Brian Shivers have to wait three years only to be told that there was never a case against them as has happened to Declan Mc Glinchey?.
Lawyers for Declan said "the weakness of the case" was clear from the beginning.
Niall Murphy of Kevin Winters & Co said: "The evidence has not changed a single iota (since he was charged in 2006) yet the PPS saw fit to sustain the prosecution for a further three years before deciding to withdraw the charges
The Belfast solicitor was right to contend that Declan Mc Glinchey's case has proved, as had others, that evidence based on all forms of Low Template DNA were "now dead ...... and not sufficient for prosecution purposes".
The solicitor is also right when he stated that had Declan McGlinchey lived in England "he would never have been charged" as all of the authorities there "dictate that prosecutions should not be undertaken with this type of evidence alone".
The Public Prosecution Service's actions in this case raises serious questions, not only in relation to this case, but also other high profile DNA cases which have collapsed during trial or discovery, and most importantly pending high profile DNA cases against Colin Duffy and Brian Shivers.Declan Mc Glinchey’s case is merely the latest in a series of failed prosecutions based upon discredited DNA evidence to collapse. The trial of Sean Hoey collapsed after a trial in which there seemed to be strong evidence that evidence had been planted, fabricated or otherwise contaminated.The charges against Mark Carroll and Martin Brogan from South Down were dismissed after their solicitors’ unearthed documents showing attempts at tampering with evidence and falsification of results.Now after three years, a consultation with a 'forensic witness' who presumably was available before charges were brought in 2006 has forced the PPS to concede that there was never any credible evidence against Declan Mc Glinchey.
Colin's family feel that there are a number of important questions arising out of this recent development:
Why has it taken three years for the problems with the DNA evidence to surface?
Are these weaknesses also relevant to the pending cases of Colin Duffy or Brian Shivers?
Are there issues of planting or contamination of evidence either by witnesses or in the lab which should be disclosed to the defence as a matter of justice?
Will Colin Duffy and Brian Shivers have to wait three years only to be told that there was never a case against them as has happened to Declan Mc Glinchey?.
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