Jonathan Dowdall allowed to testify in Gerard Hutch murder trial

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

The Special Criminal Court ruled that Jonathan Dowdall could give evidence against Gerard Hutch in Hutch’s murder trial. The proceedings were reported on 8 December 2022.

Hutch has pleaded not guilty to the murder of David Byrne.

The ruling rejected the defence objection that Dowdall had an incentive to testify after the murder charge against him was dropped. The judge said Dowdall’s statement to gardaí was not given in return for that decision, and that he could have chosen not to testify after his plea to the lesser charge was accepted.

The court said it would hear Dowdall’s evidence. It had not been updated on whether he was in the Witness Protection Programme; the latest information was that he was being assessed.