Irish Republican News · November 29, 2014

Sinn Fein figures arrested and released

The PSNI has been accused of returning to “unaccountable policing” after the Sinn Fein northern chairman Bobby Storey and a party councillor were separately arrested and then released.

Mr Storey was arrested at his west Belfast home yesterday morning as part of what the PSNI described as “the overall investigation” into the death of informer Jean McConville in 1972.

Originally from north Belfast, Mr Storey has spent more than two decades in prison and is one of the most prominent republicans in Ireland.

At the time of Mrs McConville’s disappearance, the former IRA figure would have been only 16, and it remains unclear what purpose his questioning might serve.

Mr Storey is just one in a series of veteran republicans arrested in relation to Mrs McConville’s death, including Sinn Fein leader Adams, who was released without charge. One of them, Ivor Bell, has been charged with IRA membership and involvement in the execution.

‘UNJUSTIFIED’

In a separate development, a Sinn Fein councillor has said he will take legal action after his arrest by the PSNI police in County Derry.

Tony McCaul was one of four men released unconditionally by police on Thursday but another man is still being questioned.

The 62-year-old was arrested alongside Pascal McFeely, a brother of IRA hunger-striker Tom McFeely, and Pascal’s son Dominic. The PSNI said the men were arrested in regard to “shooting incidents and threats”.

Mr McCaul said he was very “angry” at what he called his wrongful arrest and false imprisonment. He said the events of the last 24 hours had left his family distressed.

“The police came at 7 o’clock in the morning and disrupted my whole family, I think the arrest was totally unjustified.

“I’m a member of the Policing and Community Safety Partnership, they could have asked me to come down to the station and I would have been quite happy to do that.

“I had nothing to tell them. It was so poor, there was not one shred of evidence to suggest I knew about this,” he said.

“Are we back to unaccountable policing here? I’m feeling pretty angry.”

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