Irish Republican News and Information, 19-23 December 2002, http://irlnet.com/rmlist/ 

'SPY RING' ACCUSED RELEASED ON BAIL

Senior Sinn Fein official Denis Donaldson and another man, Ciaran Kearney, have been freed on bail following a vigorous court challenge to their continued detention on PSNI police accusations that they were involved in an "IRA spy ring" in Belfast.

Both men had been in custody since October when the PSNI staged a showpiece raid at Sinn Fein office's at the Stormont Aseembly, where Donaldson was Sinn Fein's head of administration.

A total of four people were charged with possessing classified documents after raids on homes in Belfast, but none remain behind bars.

The detention of Donaldson and Kearney become a subject of widespread protest after it appeared that the Stormont raid was a charade for public consumption. In October, hundreds of PSNI members were deployed in an embarrassing high-profile raid of the Sinn Fein offices, but nothing was found.

On Friday, Denis Donaldson was freed on his own bail of one thousand pounds sterling and two sureties of five thousand pounds each.

This [Monday] afternoon, Mr Kearney's bail was set at three thousand pounds. The judge also ordered Mr Kearney and his wife to surrender their passports and not apply for new ones, British or Irish.

The original refusal of bail was based on the evidence of the PSNI who said they thought the men were involved with the "Headquarters Intelligence Unit" of the IRA engaged in collating information on the British military in Ireland.

The PSNI refused to reveal secret information on the IRA which they insisted backed their claims.

On Friday, Mr Justice Sheil, presiding, pointed out that Mr Donaldson had a right to liberty.

"If the Crown intends to rely on intelligence material in a bail application that material now has to be disclosed to the defence," he said.

"It has been made clear however by the European court that seriousness of an offence is not in itself a reason for refusing bail."

Today, Mr Kearney was released after the judge said he had decided to release him because he did not want to make any distinction between him and Mr Donaldson.