Hi °C | Lo °C A lawyer and a trainee solicitor are to stand trial after they were accused of helping organise an alleged sham marriage at Belfast City Hall, a judge has ruled.
John Irwin and Michelle Lyons were among four men and three women to appear in the dock at Belfast Magistrates Court.
Irwin (36), of Kesh Road, Lisburn, Co Antrim, faces charges of assisting unlawful immigration by completing driving licence applications for non-European Union citizens.
He is currently suspended from practice after the Law Society intervened in the running of his Moira-based firm.
Trainee solicitor Lyons (42), from Main Street, Castlerock, is accused of similar offences and of participating in a sham marriage at Belfast Registry Office in August 2011 by arranging to obtain the relevant paperwork.
Alongside them in the dock were Robert Nicholl (55), of Sea Road, Castlerock, and Edward Nicholl (59), from Glebe Avenue, Coleraine, who are charged with breaching immigration law by acting as groom and witness at the alleged bogus wedding.
Chinese woman Lin Shuli (47), of Camden Street, Belfast, is accused of seeking to remain in the United Kingdom by deception through posing as a bride in the sham marriage.
Two other foreign nationals — Hu Jiang Yuan (56), of Credenhill Park, Dunmurry, Belfast, and Wang Ye (20), of Camden Street, Belfast — are charged with assisting by acting as witness and interpreter at the ceremony.
All seven defendants nodded to confirm they understood the charges against them.
None of them gave evidence or called witnesses during the preliminary enquiry hearing.
District Judge Fiona Bagnall agreed with prosecution submissions that a prima facie case has been established against all seven accused.
She ruled that they should be returned for trial at Belfast Crown Court on a date to be fixed.
The defendants were all released on bail until those proceedings get under way.
Later, the Law Society confirmed the action taken against John Irwin. In a statement. the regulatory body said: “The Law Society of Northern Ireland can confirm that John Irwin, solicitor, has been suspended from practice and the society has intervened in his practice, pursuant to its statutory powers.”
