Three men appeared in court in Northern Ireland yesterday charged with the murder of the leading loyalist, Billy Wright, inside the Maze Prison on Saturday.
The three men, handcuffed together and to police guards, remained silent other than to affirm their names when they appeared at Lisburn Magistrates' Court in Co Antrim. A dozen armed police ringed the courtroom during the eight-minute hearing.
Christopher Michael Patrick McWilliams (35), John Martin Gerard Kennaway (35) and John Glennon (32) were each charged with the murder of Wright.
They were also each charged with possessing two firearms and a quantity of ammunition.
They were remanded in custody to reappear at the court in the Maze Prison on January 14th.
A detective inspector told the court that as he was about to charge McWilliams yesterday he said: "Billy Wright was executed for one reason and one reason only, and that was for directing and waging his campaign of terror against the nationalist people from his prison cell." He said the other two men made no comment when charged.
The prisoners were taken from the Maze to the court and back again moments after the hearing in an armoured prison van escorted by four RUC Land-Rovers.