An alleged senior member of the IRA has been refused bail after Belfast High Court heard claims of witness intimidation.
Mr Edward Copeland, of Holmdene Gardens, Ardoyne, faces charges of unlawful imprisonment, assault causing actual bodily harm, kidnapping and threatening to kill.
The charges follow an incident in Ardoyne on August 22nd, when it is alleged Mr Copeland and three other men attempted to force a man into a car.
Opposing Mr Copeland's application for bail, a prosecution lawyer said the incident had the hallmarks of a paramilitary operation and police believed Mr Copeland to be a senior member of the IRA in north Belfast.
The injured party in the incident, Mr Patrick Shannon, had recently told police he wished to withdraw a statement he had made identifying Mr Copeland as the leader of a group of four men who had attempted to kidnap him, the lawyer said.
Mr Shannon, he said, was a drug-dealer who had been subjected to paramilitary attacks in the past and had said he believed that on this occasion he was going to be killed.
This belief had been bolstered by the fact that he had said one of his assailants had worn Latex gloves which would prevent any firearms residue remaining on his skin after he fired a gun.
The lawyer said that during the struggle Mr Copeland had bitten Mr Shannon on the calf. Mr Shannon had indicated he wished to withdraw his statement after threats had been made to his family, including his 70-year-old mother.
He said Mr Shannon had not contradicted his statement and added that the Director of Public Prosecutions would consider whether it could still use Mr Shannon's statement as evidence.
Prosecution counsel said there were three other witnesses to the incident, two police officers and an unidentified civilian witness. Police witnesses would say they saw Mr Copeland take part in attacking Mr Shannon. When they approached the scene, the three other men ran off but Mr Copeland stepped away from the car where Mr Shannon had been dragged.
Mr Martin O'Rourke, for Mr Copeland, said his client had a long-standing disagreement with Mr Shannon. "Quite frankly Mr Shannon despises Mr Copeland," he said.
He contended his client had come upon and become "embroiled" in the incident. This might indeed have involved paramilitaries but not his client.
His client had not been dressed in the same way as the three other men. They had been in hats and one had rubber gloves while his client was wearing shorts, and although the others had run away, his client had not.
Mr O'Rourke said Mr Shannon had been wrong to identify his client as the leader of the group and as the man who bit him. "Whether this was a genuine misunderstanding or as a result of the vendetta is not clear," he said.
Mr O'Rourke said that in deciding whether to grant bail, the seriousness of the offence on its own did not warrant a refusal. He rejected the Crown's contention that, if released, Mr Copeland would attempt to influence witnesses. He did not know who the civilian witness was and could not influence the RUC witnesses, he said.
Refusing bail, Mr Justice Gillen said it was possible that if released Mr Copeland might attempt to identify the civilian witness and influence them. He said he had to presume innocence but added there was "extremely strong prima-facie evidence against the applicant, and I must bear that in mind".