TWO men appeared in court in Derry yesterday charged in connection with what a police officer described as a paramilitary style kidnapping.
Damian Donaghy (31) of Circular Road in Derry and George McBrearty (33) from Burnfoot in Co Donegal were charged with kidnapping a man on October 26.
A police officer, who opposed bail, told the court that on October 26 the PSNI received a report from a member of the public that a black 4x4 had pulled up alongside a red van in the Creggan and two males had pulled a man out of the van and took him away.
The alleged injured party was said to have told police he had been kidnapped by four people, taken to a wooded area, interrogated and threatened with being shot.
The details of the 4x4 were circulated and later that night a similar vehicle was spotted in the Clon Elagh area of Derry and two men were seen waking away from it.
Police approached the men and a hammer and a machete were found in the vehicle. They were arrested on suspicion of kidnapping and made no comment during interviews.
Police, who opposed bail, said they still had to speak to "one significant witness" adding that the "paramilitary" nature of the charges could deter witnesses.
A solicitor for the defendants however said the alleged injured party had said he did not want to pursue charges.
The solicitor also said the police had "no fingerprints, no identification evidence that puts the pair in Westway and you don't have an injured party."
District Judge Michael Ranaghan however refused bail and remanded both men in custody to appear again on November 23.
