Terror charge men due before court

Three men extradited from Slovakia are due before a British court today charged with terrorist offences.

The men - Fintan Paul O’Farrell, 35, Declan John Rafferty, 41, and Michael Christopher McDonald, 44 - were last night held at a central London police station.

They were due to appear at Belmarsh magistrates court, a Scotland Yard spokeswoman said.

Each man faces three counts under the Terrorism Act 2000 and two counts under the Criminal Law Act 1977.

All three are from Co Louth.

They were arrested by Slovak police, acting on behalf of Scotland Yard’s Anti-Terrorist Branch, on July 5.

The UK has an extradition agreement with Slovakia which allowed the three men to be transferred quickly to British soil.

All three men are accused of trying to buy weapons for the Real IRA.