IRA inmate wins parole after suing U.K. over secrecy

DUBLIN — A suspected Irish Republican Army member has been paroled from a Northern Ireland prison after he successfully sued the British government over its power to keep evidence against him secret.

Monday’s Belfast High Court judgment ends two years of imprisonment for Martin Corey. Britain had sent the 61-year-old back to prison citing confidential intelligence reports branding him a member of the Continuity IRA splinter group.

Corey sued Britain, arguing that its order breached the European Convention on Human Rights. Justice Seamus Treacy agreed, ruling that British authorities must disclose evidence to the accused.

For decades Britain has wielded the power to reimprison paroled IRA convicts without a new trial if they are suspected of resuming IRA activity. Corey spent 19 years in prison for the 1973 murder of two policemen.