A woman allegedly kicked to the head outside her home in north Belfast was warned she had 24 hours to leave or face “action” from the INLA, the High Court has heard.
Prosecutors claimed 38-year-old Martin Emmet Kelly attacked his ex-partner in the street and then made a menacing phone call about her.
Kelly, of Naroon Park in the city, denies charges of assault occasioning actual bodily harm and attempted witness intimidation.
During his unsuccessful application for bail, the court heard police discovered the woman with a cut to her head in the Carlisle Road area on July 7.
She claimed Kelly had gone to her home and started banging on the front door.
When she went outside he grabbed and banged her against a wall before kicking her to the head and shoulders after she fell to the ground, it was alleged.
A Crown lawyer said members of the public intervened to stop the assault.
The following day a telephone call was made in a bid to get the woman to quit her home, according to the prosecution.
Counsel said: “It stated that the injured party had 24 hours to leave her address or action would be taken against her by the INLA.”
It was alleged that Kelly was the person who answered when officers rang the number which made the call.
There is no suggestion that he has links to any paramilitary grouping.
During interviews Kelly denied involvement in the assault or contact, claiming he had lent his phone to a friend.
He also made a counter-allegation that the woman had wounded him with a Stanley knife.
Defence barrister Sean O’Hare suggested there had been a “connivance” to frame his client.
“There appears to have been something of a ham-fisted, amateurish attempt to put the blame on this man,” Mr O’Hare contended.
Refusing bail, however, Madam Justice McBride cited concerns about potential re-offending.
She added: “I also consider there is a risk of interference with witnesses, in light of the alleged intimidation.”