AN application to extradite to Britain a man arrested in Dublin under the Offences Against the State Act failed at Dublin District Court on Saturday.
The extradition application, issued on behalf of Scotland Yard, collapsed because there was a"fundamental flaw" in the documentation presented to the court, according to the lawyer representing the State, Ms Claire Loftus.
Later, violent scuffles erupted between republicans and gardai outside the nearby Bridewell Garda station as Mr Anthony Duncan (26), from Kippure Park, Finglas West, Dublin, was rearrested.
He was returned to the District Court, where Judge Timothy Crowley remanded him in custody until Friday on a charge of being a member of the IRA.
Mr Duncan was first arrested at a house in Finglas at 9 a.m. last Thursday and held for questioning at Lucan Garda station before being brought to Dublin District Court on Saturday morning.
When the court hearing began at 10.55 a.m. the accused man sat silently in the dock. The courtroom was packed with members of his family, relatives and prominent republicans.
Opening the State case, Ms Loftus called Det Supt Ted Murphy to give evidence. He told Judge Crowley that he had informed Mr Duncan of the extradition warrants at Lucan Garda station at 8.40 a.m. that day and had asked him if he was the person named in the warrants. Mr Duncan had replied that he did not have anything to say until he saw his solicitor.
The superintendent identified Mr Duncan in court and said that the warrants had been issued by Bow Street Magistrates in London.
However, after examination of the extradition documents by the judge and the defence lawyer, Mr Michael Hanahoe, the hearing was adjourned for further consultation.
When the court resumed at 1.45 p.m. Ms Loftus apologised for the delay and told Judge Crowley that she now had new instructions from the Attorney General, Mr Dermot Gleeson SC.
Ms Loftus said: "I am instructed that it is now clear there is a fundamental flaw in the proceedings before the court and in the documentation that has been produced. In those circumstances, I am not in a position to make any application and we cannot proceed further."
For the defence, Mr Hanahoe said that, in the circumstances, the proper order was a discharge. He added: "I think it should be said that the document which arrived from England was the document that contained the flaw. I think that should be said."
Judge Crowley said: "It is not the first time, in my own experience, that documents arriving from England were flawed, and I think it is an imposition on the Irish courts that it should happen and I strongly object to it. I take very great exception to the time of this court being taken up by flawed documentation."
Ms Loftus told the judge that she had noted his remarks and said that they would be conveyed to the Attorney General and to the Garda authorities.
The hearing then ended in confusion as Mr Duncan walked to the back of the court and was surrounded by relatives and friends. The impasse lasted for several minutes as gardai gathered in strength outside the courthouse.
Huddled among supporters, Mr Duncan was advised not to risk violence by allowing himself to be bundled through the narrow court
With a battery of TV cameras and photographers awaiting his exit, he donned a baseball cap, pulling it down to conceal his face, and drew up his coat collar.
As his supporters argued with senior gardai he was persuaded to enter the Bridewell Garda station through a rear door. Outside, republicans carrying anti extradition placards chanted slogans such as "No British justice, no extradition."
When Mr Duncan emerged from the Bridewell minutes later, he took just a few steps before a garda placed a hand on his shoulder and led him away.
This resulted in violent scuffles on the street between gardai and angry republicans. At one stage members of the crowd threatened TV camera crews and photographers.
Within minutes Mr Duncan was brought back into court where, in a brief hearing, Judge Crowley heard that he was now accused of IRA membership. The judge remanded him in custody until next Friday.