A key witness in the trial of a man accused of the murder of Catholic taxi driver Mr Michael McGoldrick is to testify from behind a screen because of fears for her life.
A judge at Belfast Crown Court granted her the special permission after it was claimed relatives also felt threatened by people in the Mid Ulster area.
She is due to go into the witness box tomorrow on day three of the trial involving Mr Clifford McKeown, 43, from Parkmore, in Craigavon, who denies murdering Mr McGoldrick in July 1996 at the height of the Drumcree crisis.
Mr McKeown is accused of shooting the taxi driver five times in the head on a remote road on the outskirts of Lurgan.
It was alleged in court that he had told a freelance journalist that it was a "birthday present" for feared loyalist leader Billy Wright.
She will be screened off from the public gallery, but will be seen by the accused, his lawyers and court officials. Her name will be made known and her evidence heard in open court.
Trial judge Mr Justice Weatherup said he was satisfied that the woman was genuinely fearful for her own life and the lives of her family and that there was a very real risk from people in the mid-Ulster area.
PA