Alan Harte loses challenge to kidnapping and attack conviction

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

Alan Harte lost his High Court challenge to his conviction and 30-year prison sentence for his role in the kidnapping and attack on Kevin Lunney. The proceedings were reported on 2 October 2023.

Harte was tried and sentenced at the Special Criminal Court in December 2021 for committing serious harm to and falsely imprisoning the Quinn Industrial Holdings director in 2019. A Special Criminal Court judge said Harte had a “ringleader” role in the kidnapping at a yard in Drumbrade, Ballinagh, Co Cavan.

Harte challenged the constitutionality of legislation allowing a two-thirds majority verdict at the non-jury court and preventing an accused from being told whether the verdict was unanimous or by a majority. He claimed his treatment was unfair and unlawful because he was entitled to the same trial as an accused in a jury court.

On 2 October 2023, Ms Justice Marguerite Bolger dismissed his judicial review challenge. She found that a person tried before the Special Criminal Court had no right to a “mirror image” of the jury court process and that the arrangements did not breach Harte’s constitutional rights to equality or to a trial in accordance with law. She also said he had no right to a five-sixths majority verdict or to know of any dissenting decision.