Abolition of non-jury court a ‘key objective’ for SF, Adams says

Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams has said the abolition of the Special Criminal Court is one of his party's "key objectives" but may not appear in its general election manifesto.

Mr Adams has been critical of the non-jury court on a number of occasions, most recently following the conviction of prominent republican Thomas 'Slab' Murphy for tax offences.

The court was established to prosecute cases involving criminal and paramilitary type offences where there were fears a jury could face intimidation. Mr Adams argued that Murphy, who he called a “good republican”, should have been tried before a jury of his peers. Murphy is due to be sentenced shortly.

Speaking on Tuesday, Mr Adams said the court “runs against the whole thrust of the Good Friday (Belfast) Agreement”.

“Whether (abolition) is in our manifesto or not is another issue or not. It certainly is one of our key objectives,” he said. “We have not closed our manifesto.”

Mr Adams was speaking ahead of a BBC Spotlight documentary on Murphy being aired on Tuesday night.

Mr Murphy, a former senior IRA member, was convicted of tax evasion by the court for failing to furnish tax returns for nearly a decade.

Mr Adams said the party was not concerned the programme would damage it ahead of the general election.

“People are very sensible about all of these matters. We have a positive record in both parts of the island,” he said. “We are going forward with progressive policies and are based on core republican values.”

Asked if he would still call Mr Murphy a “good republican” if jailed by the Special Criminal Court, Mr Adams replied: “Lets wait until the judge has its say. Lets not go to the hanging until it is time for it.”