The prosecution case against three relatives of a prominent dissident republican collapsed in a Belfast Court today after a controversy about tracking devices used to gather information.
Shane, Paul John and Damien Danny Duffy were acquitted of all the terrorist-related charges against them.
Two of the Co Armagh men before Belfast Crown Court are brothers of prominent dissident republican Colin Duffy, and the third is a cousin.
All three were charged with a series of offences, including conspiracy to murder a member of members of the PSNI or the Northern Ireland Prison Service in a two year period up to December 2011.
But a prosecution barrister indicated that no further evidence was being offered against the three accused and the judge, Mr Justice Colton, acquitted them.
In a statement issued afterwards the Public Prosecution Service said that its case relied on evidence obtained from tracking devices that had been installed in vehicles.
It made a case to the judge that certain information about the devices should not be shared with the defendants but could be shared with an expert engaged by the defence team under a confidentiality agreement.
However, Mr Justice Colton decided that while accepting prosecution submissions about the sensitivity of the information, a fair trial required disclosure to the defendants.
The prosecution was not prepared to make known this information about the tracking devices.
Without this key element, the case collapsed.
