HIGH-PROFILE Lurgan republican Colin Duffy has been released on bail after more than two years behind bars.
Co-accused Alex McCrory was also freed on Wednesday, days after Harry Fitzsimons had been granted bail because of the length of time spent on remand.
All three are alleged to be senior members of the ‘IRA’ and accused of trying to kill PSNI officers in an attack on a police vehicle on the Crumlin Road in north Belfast in December 2013.
They were arrested after allegedly holding a meeting in the grounds of a country house near Lurgan the following day, and were among the longest-serving remand prisoners since the end of the Troubles.
Prosecutors say they were recorded for more than an hour while holding a “leadership command discussion regarding the IRA, its activities and future direction” including the amount of arms and explosives at its disposal.
Both men were ordered on Wednesday to wear electronic tags, observe a 7pm to 8am curfew and surrender all travel documents.
They were also told they cannot leave the north, must report to police daily and have no contact with witnesses.
Conditions for McCrory included two sureties of £10,000, while Duffy was told he would need two sureties of £5,000 each.
McCrory (54), of Sliabh Dubh View in west Belfast, was also ordered not to enter Lurgan.
Presiding district judge Fiona Bagnall heard it was the first bail application by Duffy (48), formerly of Forest Glade in Lurgan.
She was told his time spent behind bars - more than 26 months - is the equivalent of a four-and-a-half year sentence.
A prosecution barrister said the two accused presented a risk of reoffending, absconding and interfering with witnesses.
However, he said the judge who granted Fitszimons (47) bail came to the conclusion “that despite the risk it had to be managed in the community”.
He added that while there were “nuanced” differences “the Crown cannot distinguish (between) the three accused”.
Mark Mulholland, for Duffy, urged the court not to impose the same sureties as Fitzsimons.
“He is not in a position to provide a £20,000 surety, his financial means are limited."
Dessie Hutton, for McCrory, said he was grateful to the prosecution solicitor for “not making a song and dance about the Crown’s objections” to bail.
Arguing against a tag for his client, he said several close family members, including his wife and mother, are undergoing “medical difficulties”.
“The applicant has every motivation to remain in the jurisdiction."
However, the judge said the electronic tag was “entirely appropriate”.
Speaking after the hearing, the men’s solicitor Peter Corrigan welcomed the bail decision.
“If it was in England they would have been released 10 times under the custody time limits,” he said.
Mandy Duffy from the Irish Republican Prisoners’ Welfare Association said: “This was a clear example of internment by remand. They have been 800 days away from their families."
