Sinn Féin East Derry Assembly member Francie Brolly was one of three men and a woman who were arrested at their homes yesterday by PSNI detectives investigating the 1972 Claudy bombings in which nine people died.
Sinn Féin general secretary Mitchel McLaughlin named Mr Brolly as one of those arrested, and described his arrest as "political theatre" by the police. "Francie Brolly is a highly respected member of this community who is a victim of a political agenda."
Mr Brolly, who was elected to the Assembly in 2003, was arrested in his home town of Dungiven. Another man from Dungiven, a woman from Dungannon, Co Tyrone, and a man from Portglenone, Co Derry, were also being questioned.
The Claudy bombings took place in the Co Derry village on July 31st, 1972, on the day of "Operation Motorman", when the British army moved into Derry's then no-go areas of the Bogside and Creggan.