EX-IRA man in OAP raid set to appeal return to jail
A FORMER IRA man jailed for a violent robbery against an elderly couple has won High Court permission to challenge his return to prison.
Kieran Smyth was granted leave to seek a judicial review of the Secretary of State’s decision to revoke his licence.
The 61-year-old, with a previous address at Springfield Avenue in Belfast, is serving a 12year sentence for his part in the armed raid on a family home in September 2013.
Intruders claiming to be loyalist paramilitaries entered the property in Ballynahinch, tied up a businessman and his wife — then aged 82 and 76 — and threatened to cut their son’s fingers off.
The masked men stole more than £5,000 in cash, a Rolex watch and a Mercedes car, ripping out phone lines before they escaped.
Smyth and his co-defendant Eamonn O’boyle (46) were later arrested following a police chase in south Belfast.
A third accomplice ran off and was never caught.
Smyth, who took part in the blanket protests at the Long Kesh compound in the 1970s, is
now aligned with the dissident political grouping Saoradh.
The defendant had been freed on licence after serving half his sentence for the robbery behind bars.
But in March this year he was sent back to Maghaberry Prison for allegedly breaching the terms of his release.
It was reported at the time that he had been linked to threats against mainstream republicans.
His lawyers claim it was unlawful to revoke his licence prior to a recommendation by the Parole Commissioners.
They also all ege t hat t he Secretary of State wrongly appears to have suggested Smyth should be recalled for reasons of deterrence and to set an example.
Proceedings were issued in a bid to have the revocation quashed.
Following a hearing at the High Court, Mr Justice Mcalinden granted leave for the challenge and listed the case for a full hearing in February next year.
Speaking outside court, Smyth’s solicitor, Gavin Booth of Phoenix Law, said: “We believe our client was unlawfully recalled to prison without good reason and we intend to challenge this fully.”