Doctor held on New IRA charge fails in bail bid
A DOCTOR among 10 people charged with dissident terrorist activity after a joint PSNI and MI5 operation has again failed to be released on bail.
During the latest application it emerged the occupants of an address offered for release were not aware of the accused or the allegations against him.
In addition, a male connected to the property works for the Irish Republican Prisoners Welfare Association (IRWPA) and a taxi firm which shares premises with political party Saoradh.
Dr Issam Bassalat (63) from Telford Road, Edinburgh, is charged with assisting terrorism by attending and addressing a New IRA meeting in July 2020.
Also charged are David and Sharon Jordan, along with Damien Joseph Mclaughlin, from Dungannon; Kevin Murphy from Coalisland; Amanda Mccabe and Shea Reynolds from Lurgan; and Joseph Barr, Patrick Mcdaid and Gary Hayden from Londonderry.
All are accused of belonging to the New IRA and preparing terrorist acts.
Mclaughlin and Reynolds are further charged with conspiring to possess Semtex and ammunition.
Dr Bassalat, who is currently suspended by the General Medical Council, has been refused bail twice each at Dungannon Magistrates Court and High Court.
At the latest application before Dungannon Magistrates Court a senior barrister said Dr Bassalat: “Has given decades of work to the NHS and is of impeccable character.”
She stressed he requires urgent spinal surgery but no date has been set.
Dr Bassalat has offered to pay for surgery privately but: “The clinic cannot possibly accommodate a prisoner with security which follows. Unless he is on bail, they cannot compromise their sterile environment.”
The occupants of a house in Newry have confirmed Dr Bassalat can stay with them.
Opposing release, prosecution counsel said surgery will be organised between the prison and hospital, and there is no evidence Dr Bassalat’s remand has “caused or worsened” his pre-existing condition.
She confirmed when checking the proposed bail address, police found two occupants, describing one as “vulnerable — with certain needs.”
Neither knew of Dr Bassalat or the charges he faces but were agreeable to him residing with them.
While police were there, a male relative arrived initially telling officers he didn’t work, before a female “burst into the property”. No one would provide her name, but the male then claimed she was a work colleague. It was ascertained he worked for IRPWA and ACE taxis, which shares premises in Newry with Saoradh.
The defence countered: “It’s disappointing bail is resisted due to the occupants’ reaction to four police cars, full of officers, attracting the attention of neighbours. Certain resistance was hardly surprising. I am instructed there are no concerns around the level of vulnerability of the occupant, unless in the context of police arriving in numbers, which would undoubtedly be an intimidating experience.”
She added: “If the best the prosecution can come up with is a person appearing vulnerable, that is no opposition at all… it’s unsurprising there are links to IRPWA, which is consistent with Dr Bassalat’s work supporting prisoners.”
District Judge Michael Ranaghan, having refused bail twice before, maintained his stance, stating: “The address situation is, to say the least, strange. I’m satisfied the medical treatment within the prison is sufficient and progressing.”
He ruled: “I’ve previously found a risk of reoffending and flight. Nothing I’ve heard today has changed that.”