Dutch Court Acquits Irish
01 September 1991
In May 1990, the IRA claimed responsibility for killing two London-based Australian lawyers on holiday at Roermond, Holland, saying they were mistaken for off-duty British soldiers. Donna Maguire, Sean Hick, Paul Hughes and Gerard Harte were charged with the murders, but only Harte was found guilty and given an eighteen year sentence. Maguire, Hick and Hughes remained in custody, however, to face charges of IRA membership, to await proceedings for extradition to Germany and because the prosecution wished to appeal against the verdicts in the original murder trial. The Dutch Appeal Court on the 5th July not only rejected the prosecution's appeal, but acquitted Harte as well, concluding that the case against the four was almost entirely circumstantial. Following the acquittal, the four remained in jail awaiting the outcome of the IRA membership case.
The four were acquitted of the membership charge on 12th July. Harte was released and flew back to Ireland where he was immediately arrested at Dublin Airport under Section 30 of the 1939 Offences Against the State Act. Ostensibly, he was questioned about firearms offences relating to July 1989, but was released 24hrs later. Harte himself maintains that the Gardai spent most of the time "ranting" about the Dutch case and offered him money to provide information on republicans. The Dublin arrest occurred after Harte's Dutch lawyers had been informed by the Irish authorities that he was not wanted for any offences in the Irish Republic. Harte is from Lurgan in the North and an RUC source made it clear that it would not be wise for him to return home.
Maguire, Hick and Hughes are still in jail pending the completion of proceedings for extradition to Germany. Maguire is contesting her extradition and the Dutch Supreme Court will hear her appeal in September.
The acquittals caused a minor storm amongst British MPs, some of whom suggested that there were now serious diplomatic problems between the British and Dutch governments. Ivor Stanbrook of the Conservative back-bench Northern Ireland Committee called for Holland to be excluded from the TREVI Group because "the Dutch have shown a totally unrealistic attitude with regard to the battle against terrorism in Western Europe". Labour called on the Foreign Office to insist that the Dutch revise their "flawed" laws on terrorist activity.
Irish News, 13.7.91 & 15.7.91.