PROMINENT Belfast republican Damien 'Dee' Fennell has been acquitted of overseeing an illegal Easter procession.
Charges were dismissed on Thursday after the 41-year-old told a court he had been unaware the event four years ago was unlawful.
Mr Fennell, of Duneden Park in the Ardoyne area, insisted that he did not hear any police announcements made at the scene in Milltown Cemetery, west Belfast.
He faced counts of organising and taking part in an unnotified procession on April 22, 2019.
A second defendant, 31-year-old Patrick McGrath, from Saunderson Court in the city, was also cleared on a single charge of participating in an unnotified procession.
A judge dismissed charges against the 39-year-old after prosecutors were unable to play footage of the incident nearly three years ago.
Proceedings centred on an event said to have been overseen by the Saoradh-linked National Republican Commemoration Committee.
Although charges against the two defendants were originally thrown out in January last year when footage of the incident could not be played, the prosecution was reinstated following a legal challenge.
At Belfast Magistrates' Court on Thursday a Crown lawyer argued police clearly warned those gathered at the graveyard that the necessary notification had not been given to the Parades Commission.
But questioned by defence counsel Conor O'Kane, Mr Fennell maintained that he heard none of the tannoy announcements and had no reason to believe the event was unauthorised. "If I thought it was illegal I wouldn't have had my children with me," he told the court.
Mr Fennell said he had attended up to 30 previous commemorations in Milltown without any issues.
Based on his standing as a well-known republican, he argued that others in attendance would have sought his views if the lawfulness of the event was in question.
"People would be asking 'am I going to get done here', but nobody came up to me," he said.
"The first I knew was then a summons came in the door of a house I haven't lived in for years.
"I thought this was all done with over a year ago when I was acquitted.
It's held me back, it's just been a bit of a nightmare."
Dismissing the charges against both defendants, Deputy District Judge Liam McStay said he could not be satisfied that they were aware of the event's illegal status.
He also pointed out that Mr Fennell would want as many notified parades as possible to maximise his republican objectives.
