A MAGISTRATE in London has refused to grant Ms Roisin McAliskey bail despite a psychiatric report which indicated difficulties in her ability to continue attending the court given the advanced stage of her pregnancy.
Ms McAliskey is more than five months pregnant and is facing extradition to Germany in connection with the IRA bombing of a British army base in Osnabruck, Germany, last June.
Although "very clear" consideration had been given to all the factors of the case, the magistrate at Bow Street Magistrates Court, Mr Peter Badge, said his objection to granting bail was due to the serious nature of the charges and therefore remained the same as those raised in previous hearings.
Mr Badge remanded Ms McAliskey to Holloway Prison in north London until January 16th, adding that she was free to appeal to a judge at the High Court to review his decision.
The German authorities allege that Ms McAliskey, from Coalisland, Co Tyrone, was part of a five member IRA cell which launched a mortar bomb attack on the Osnabruck barracks.
Ms McAliskey did not speak during the half hour hearing and nodded to indicate that she understood the decision of the court. Her mother, Mrs Bernadette McAliskey, the former mid Ulster MP, was in court with three other members of her family.
Requesting bail, Ms McAliskey's solicitor, Ms Gareth Peirce, said the converging situation of her client's pregnancy and the dates of extradition hearings - would "exacerbate" an already difficult situation.
Ms McAliskey had been evaluated by a psychiatric consultant but that report had not been available to the Home Secretary, Mr Michael Howard, when he made the decision yesterday to allow the extradition process to continue. Had he read the report, Ms Peirce told the court, Mr Howard would have been aware of the anxiety of the situation.
Ms Peirce said Ms McAliskey was "in very continuous pain and that she had taken painkillers half an hour before the court hearing to be able to get through the procedures." Her medical situation, she said, "has not altered, indeed it has worsened."
Stressing the extent of family ties in Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Ms Peirce said many family members had settled in London, while Mrs McAliskey, as a former MP, had extensive ties with politicians, writers and trade unionists. In addition, Ms Peirce said she had been instructed by Ms McAliskey to give "her absolute word to the court that she would not abscond and that she would appear in court and do everything required of her."