Hi °C | Lo °C A former Irish soldier who shot dead three of his colleagues while on duty in Lebanon is to be transferred from Mountjoy Prison in Dublin to Maghaberry.
Michael McAleavey from west Belfast received a life sentence after the murders in 1982. He has been campaigning for years to be moved to Ulster to be closer to his family. Irish Justice Minister Brian Lenihan has now approved the transfer.
McAleavey received a life sentence for the October 1982 killings in Lebanon, where the soldiers were on UN peacekeeping duty. He was 21 at the time.
He opened fire on fellow privates Peter Burke and Thomas Murphy and Corporal Gary Morrow, from Lurgan, at Tibnin Bridge, South Lebanon, on 27 October 1982. He fired 33 shots, 18 of which hit the soldiers.
The west Belfast man initially said his unit had been attacked by a Lebanese pro-Israeli Christian militia but later admitted that he "cracked" under a combination of pressure and heat exhaustion.
Families of the murdered soldiers have expressed outrage at the news coming only days before the 25th anniversary of the murders.
Once moved, he may be entitled to apply for release to the Life Sentence Review Commission. If he applies for parole in the future, any decision will be taken by the Prison Service of Northern Ireland, a system that still allows for 50% remission.
