A WEST Belfast man accused of the murder of prison officer Adrian Ismay almost four years ago will not be giving evidence at his trial, a court heard.
Defence counsel Arthur Harvey QC told trial judge Mr Justice McAlinden that Christopher Robinson had been advised that if he did not give evidence the court could "draw an inference'' from that refusal.
Robinson (49), of Aspen Walk, Dunmurry, denies murdering 52-year-old Mr Ismay on March 15, 2016.
He further denies charges of possessing an improvised explosive device and providing money or property for the purposes of terrorism.
Mr Ismay was travelling to work from his home at Hillsborough Drive in east Belfast on March 4, 2016, when the device exploded under his Volkswagen Transporter vehicle.
Although he initially survived the blast, the prison officer died 11 days later from his injuries.
The defence were due to call a priest to give evidence in the case but Mr Harvey told the court that an oral statement would instead be handed into court along with a number of medical reports.
Both the Crown and the defence are due to make their closing submissions in the case, which first started in October 2018 and resumed in June 2019 following a seven-month adjournment.
At the opening of the trial 15 months ago, the prosecution showed CCTV footage of a Citroen car being driven into the victim's street hours before the attack.
It is the prosecution case that the vehicle was used in the murder plot.
The court further heard that the accused looked up Adrian Ismay's profile online and that he showed a keen interest in the news story as it developed.
The prosecution told the trial judge that, before Adrian Ismay died, he confirmed he had volunteered with St John's Ambulance alongside the accused and that Robinson would have known he was a prison officer.
When the trial resumed last June, Mr Justice McAlinden heard that Robinson was arrested on March 7, 2016 and was interviewed 16 times over the course of his detention until March 11, 2016.
During these interviews he spoke to confirm his name, date of birth and that he understood the nature of his arrest.
He also requested an appropriate adult due to mental health issues.
The prosecutor said that apart from two short statements, Robinson refused to answer questions over the course of all interviews.
In his statement, Robinson confirmed he had been arrested on suspicion of the attempted murder of an off-duty prison officer, but said: "I have no knowledge of this incident, nor did I have involvement in it". He also denied being an "active member of the New IRA''.
He also confirmed that he knew Mr Ismay as they were both members of St John's Ambulance based on the Saintfield Road, and that Mr Ismay had been his senior officer.
