A CONVICTED republican killer has secured legal permission to challenge revised terms for monitoring his release on licence.
Thomas McWilliams (55) was granted leave at the High Court to seek a judicial review of the requirement to engage with Multi-Agency Review Arrangements (MARA).
His lawyers claim it represents unlawful and intrusive supervision of Troubles-era "politically motivated" ex-prisoners.
From the Ardoyne area of north Belfast, he received a life sentence for the murder of a Protestant grocer in March 1993.
Norman Truesdale was gunned down at his shop on the city's Oldpark Road.
Initially freed in 2000 under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement, McWilliams was returned to prison for removing a gun from the scene of rioting in Belfast.
The semi-automatic weapon had been used to fire shots at officers in Ardoyne in July 2012.
McWilliams was given a 12-year sentence, but released again on life licence in 2018.
Amendments to his supervision conditions introduced this year involve active monitoring by a MARA officer.
McWilliams' legal team argued that the change breach his rights to privacy.
It was claimed that past convictions for crimes such as the 1993 murder are not valid criteria for the classification of terrorist risk offenders in 2021.
The type of monitoring required by the amended licence goes against a scheme established by the Good Friday Agreement, according to McWilliams' case.
His solicitor, Michael Brentnall, confirmed he has been granted leave to apply for a judicial review, with a full hearing listed next year.