Hi °C | Lo °C The son of a veteran republican campaigning to prove the IRA was responsible for the murder of a man nearly a year ago appeared in court today on terror charges.
Turloch McAllister, 33, was remanded in custody on six charges during a brief hearing at Newry Magistrates' Court in County Down, in Northern Ireland.
His father, Jim McAllister, has been campaigning on behalf of the family of Paul Quinn who are seeking to prove the IRA lured the 21-year-old across the border from his home in Cullyhanna, South Armagh, last October and battered him to death.
Turloch McAllister, of The Square, Crossmaglen, was arrested in the border village during a security operation last Sunday.
He appeared in court facing three charges of possessing explosives, one of possessing ammunition, another of possessing a programmable scanner likely to be of use in the commission, preparation or instigation of an act of terrorism and a further charge of possessing a munitions handbook.
A detective sergeant told the court that when charged, McAllister made no comment, but he believed he could connect the accused to the charges.
The court was told that McAllister had no assets, lived alone, had no savings and had been a labourer until two weeks ago when he was made redundant.
No bail application was made and he was remanded in custody until October 22 to appear at the same court via video link.
His father attended the court but left immediately after the hearing, grim-faced and making no comment.
Jim McAllister is a life-long republican who at various stages has been a Sinn Fein councillor and assembly member. He left the party some years ago after a fall-out and over the past year has been campaigning with the Quinn family to get the IRA to admit its members were responsible for the murder of Paul Quinn in a County Monaghan farmyard.
The family says he was murdered for defying an order to leave the country. Sinn Fein has consistently denied any republican involvement in the killing.
There was a strong force of police in the Newry courthouse during the hearing and traffic was halted when Turloch McAllister was driven away in a convoy of security vehicles.
