The Five Demands

Brian Shivers, 44 anni di Maghera, è comparso questa mattina dinnanzi alla Corte di Ballymena per rispondere delle accuse in connessione con l’attentato alla base armata di Massereene.
Il PSNI ha dichiarato di temere l’implicazione di un terzo uomo che potrebbe aver lasciato il territorio nordirlandese.
“Abbiamo cercato di arrestare un altro indagato in questa inchiesta, ma senza successo, e abbiamo ragione di credere che abbia abbandonato la giurisdizione”,  ha dichiarato l’ispettore Justin  Galloway.
Shivers è stato accusato di duplice omicidio dei soldati Mark Quinsey e Patrick Azimkar, di 6 tentati omicidi e di possesso di armi e munizioni con l’intento di ledere alla vita.
L’ispettore Galloway ha dichiarato che ad incastrare Shivers sono tracce di DNA rilevate su di un telefono cellulare e su oggetti trovati all’interno ed all’esterno del veicolo (Vauxhall Cavalier) ritrovato dopo l’attentato.
La difesa ha messo in dubbio la veridicità delle prove, definendole come ‘parziali’. Si tratterebbe infatti delle stesso tipo di tracce di DNA (low copy number DNA) che avevano inizialmente inchiodato Sean O’Hoey nel processo per l’attentato di Omagh del 1998. Prove giudicate poi  inattendibili proprio perchè essendo minime, sono gravate da un altissimo rischio di contaminazione. Sean O’Hoey venne di fatto assolto da ogni accusa.

Vodpod videos no longer available.

Man in court over soldier murders (BBC News Northern Ireland)
A 44-year-old man has appeared in court in Ballymena charged with the murders of two soldiers and the attempted murder of six other people.
Brian Shivers, from Maghera, was also charged with firearms offences.
Sappers Mark Quinsey, 23, from Birmingham, and Patrick Azimkar, 21, from London, were shot dead at Massereene Army base, Antrim, in March.
Police have said they fear another man being sought over the murders may have left Northern Ireland.
“We have previously tried to arrest another suspect in this investigation, but have been unsuccessful, and we have reason to believe he has fled the jurisdiction,” Detective Inspector Justin Galloway said.
Mr Shivers, who is also accused of possession of firearms and ammunition with intent to endanger life, was refused bail and remanded in custody.
Ballymena Magistrates Court was told CCTV cameras recorded pictures of two masked gunmen firing 60 rounds of ammunition during the attack.
Detective Inspector Galloway told the court there was DNA evidence linking Mr Shivers to the alleged getaway car.
He said it had been discovered on a mobile phone and on items found inside and outside the vehicle.
A defence solicitor questioned the validity of the evidence and said they were just partial matches.
However, Magistrate Phillip Mateer said while the merits of low-copy DNA had been debated during the trial of Omagh bomb suspect Sean Hoey, the court still accepted it as evidence.
The soldiers were killed by the Real IRA outside the barracks as they collected pizzas they had earlier ordered.
Two gunmen in a car parked nearby opened fire with semi-automatic rifles.
Four other people were seriously injured, including the pizza delivery men.
Prominent dissident republican Colin Duffy is the only other person to have been charged with the murders.