Francis Lanigan to be returned over Tyrone murder charges

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

Francis Lanigan is to be returned to Northern Ireland on charges of murder and possessing a firearm with intent to endanger life after the High Court’s Ms Justice Deirdre Murphy lifted a stay on his surrender on 21 January 2019. The charges relate to John Knocker, who was shot dead in a Dungannon hotel car park on 31 May 1998.

Lanigan had opposed extradition, saying his life would be at risk from loyalist and republican paramilitaries. The High Court made an order for his surrender in 2015, which was upheld on appeal. Two applications under Article 40 of the Constitution challenging the legality of his detention had also failed. He had been on bail, with his surrender stayed pending the outcome of any Supreme Court appeal.

The Supreme Court refused the previous week to hear an appeal seeking to have issues referred to the European Court of Justice following the Court of Appeal’s refusal to do so. Robert Barron SC, for the State, sought the lifting of the stay. Kieran Kelly BL, for Lanigan, said his client’s action had ended and his side was not contesting the application.