A suspected IRA fugitive arrested in the Canary Islands appeared before a court in the North yesterday charged with taking part in a 1996 bomb attack on a British army base.
Mr Michael Rogan (44), one of the so-called "on the runs" whose future has been a contentious issue in the peace talks, was extradited from Spain and flown back to the North on Thursday night to face a charge of causing explosions.
The charge relates to an IRA bomb attack on Thiepval Barracks, the British army's Northern Ireland headquarters, at Lisburn, Co Antrim, in which one soldier was killed. Mr Rogan, who also faces two charges of collecting information likely to be of use to terrorists, was remanded in custody until November 19th.
Defence lawyer Mr Peter Madden said Mr Rogan, originally from north Belfast, denied the charges and complained he had been held for 10 days in Spain without access to his family or legal team. "There's a letter of protest from the Irish Government to the Spanish authorities in relation to that," he said.
Mr Rogan had been wanted since November 1997 when he failed to appear at a court in Belfast. Legal sources said he has been living in the Republic, and was on a week's holiday when he was arrested in Playa de las Americas, Tenerife, on October 11th.
The double car bomb attack on Thiepval Barracks injured another 31 people.
Sinn Féin has been demanding an effective amnesty for a few dozen IRA suspects, including Mr Rogan, who are still wanted for alleged terrorist offences. The party says the fugitive status of the "on the runs" is an anomaly, given that most paramilitary prisoners were released from jail under the Belfast Agreement.