Guerin murder suspect cleared

March 15, 2001 Web posted at: 12:38 PM EST (1738 GMT) LONDON, England -- A drug importer has been cleared of ordering the murder of a leading Irish investigative journalist. But John Gilligan was jailed for 28 years at Dublin's Special Criminal Court for drug offences. The sentencing, on Thursday, was the culmination of one of Ireland's biggest investigations launched after the murder of Veronica Guerin. Guerin, who had received death threats after exposing Dublin's drugs gangs, was shot six times as she sat in her car on the outskirts of Dublin on June 26, 1996. Judge Dairmuid O'Donovan told the non-jury court that although there were "grave suspicions" of Gilligan's complicity in the murder, the prosecution had not proved the charge "beyond all reasonable doubts." The 48-year-old was also cleared of four further charges of possessing arms and ammunition. But he was found guilty of 11 counts of importing and possessing cannabis resin with intent to supply. It was confirmed later that Gilligan would appeal against both his conviction for drugs offences and the severity of the sentence. Two men, Paul Ward and Brian Meehan, are currently serving life sentences following their convictions for Guerin's murder. The prosecution alleged that the pair acted under the "control and command" of Gilligan, who the court was told had left Dublin airport for Amsterdam the day before Guerin was shot. Three former criminal associates of Gilligan, all now serving time in jail while under the state's witness protection programme, gave

evidence against him during the 43-day trial. Warren told the court he rang Gilligan, who had flown from Dublin airport to Amsterdam the previous day, and informed him of the shooting. But the judges threw out evidence from a key state witness Russell Warren branding him a "self-serving liar." "It is the view of the court that the only evidence which was heard that could possibly implicate (Gilligan) in the murder of Veronica Guerin was that of Russell Warren," said Judge O'Donovan. "His evidence is so suspect that the interests of justice demand that it not be relied upon except when corroborated by independent evidence." There was, however, "no corroboration whatsoever." The three-judge court normally only hears cases involving people accused under the republic's anti-subversion laws. However, legal sources said prosecuting authorities can refer particular high-profile cases to it in the interests of "the administration of justice" -- specifically to limit the risk of intimidation of jurors. A film is being made of the life of Guerin, who entered journalism at the age of 32 but quickly established herself as a star reporter on Ireland's biggest-selling newspaper, the Sunday Independent. Her speciality was gripping spreads on Dublin's notorious gangs. But the scoops did not come easily, however, and to get them she went out of her way to befriend some violent and ruthless men. Threats and attacks became part of her life. A gunman fired through the window of her home in Cloghran in October 1994 and she took her first bullet in January 1995 when a masked man burst into her house.

She had also investigated the IRA shortly before her death, revealing how the organisation smuggled Semtex into Britain for the Canary Wharf bomb, which devasted London Docklands, while it was officially on ceasefire.