Michael McKevitt
Republican Michael McKevitt has launched an appeal against the High Court’s decision to refuse him early release from prison.
The 66-year-old, from Beech Park in Blackrock, was jailed by the non-jury Special Criminal Court for 20 years in 2003, backdated to 2001, for directing terrorism and for membership of an illegal organisation styling itself as the Real IRA.
With the normal one-quarter remission generally afforded to prisoners, McKevitt is due for release from Portlaoise Prison in July 2016.
McKevitt had applied for a further 8 per cent off his sentence, arguing that his participation in structured prison activities, such as art, drama, French, home economics and yoga classes, meant he was entitled to one-third remission rather than the one-quarter generally afforded to prisoners.
The High Court ruled last year that the Minister for Justice was entitled to refuse McKevitt’s application for one-third remission and he sought to appeal that decision on Wednesday in the Court of Appeal, with a decision on the matter to be made soon.
