Mr Justice Fowler said he was reluctant to take the case out of the list for those reasons outlined by the prosecution and would review it closer to the trial date
Outside of the Crown Court at Laganside in Belfast(Image: Liam McBurney/PA Wire)
The trial of a Derry man facing terrorism charges is now in doubt as the defendant is “significantly unwell” after he recently underwent surgery, a court heard today.
Kieran George McCool, 57, of Ballymagowan Gardens in Creggan, is due to stand trial next month at Belfast Crown Court on a total of eight charges spanning a seven year period.
During an arraignment hearing in November 2023, McCool pleaded not guilty to a charge of preparation of terrorist acts between January 1, 2016 and January 1, 2022.
The charge includes possessing explosives, conducting research and accessing a document or record likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism.
He further denied seven separate offences of possessing articles for use in terrorism on dates between December 31, 2016 and May 13, 2021.
The articles in question included a pair of black gloves and six mobile phones.
During a review of the case on Friday, a senior prosecution KC told Mr Justice Fowler that he had received an email the previous day in regards to a medical update on McCool.
After reading the email, Mr Justice Fowler said it was apparent “from the sensitivity of the email that the defendant is significantly unwell at this time and is in postoperative recovery after undergoing significant surgery”.
The prosecution KC said: “This is a substantial case and is listed for trial at the start of February this year and is expected to last six weeks.”
Criminal barristers in Northern Ireland are currently on strike in a dispute over legal aid fees.
Added the senior prosecutor: “I have spoken to the chairman of the Criminal Bar Association (CBA) and other members of the Association.
“Assessing it as an outsider, to me there does not seem to be a reasonable prospect of this dispute being resolved in the next three weeks.
“This is a case which requires a lot of preparation from both sides.”
Mr Justice Fowler said he was reluctant to take the case out of the list for those reasons outlined by the prosecution and would review it closer to the trial date.
“I would like a little bit more information about the prognosis and recovery time of the defendant. I don’t really want to take it out of the list just yet,” said Mr Justice Fowler.
“However, I am more than conscious of the fact that the defendant has undergone significant surgery and is in a postoperative state of recovery.
“I need some more information about recovery before I would take the case out of the list.”
Mr Justice Fowler told a defence solicitor that he was giving him seven days to furnish the court with a medical report from McCool’s GP on his postoperative period of recovery and whether he will have recovered in time for his trial.
He added that the GP should be informed of the trial date and its duration.
The case will be reviewed again on Friday, January 16, 2025.
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