Sinn Féin man quizzed over 15-year-old murder

Detectives today questioned a Sinn Féin member about a 15-year-old murder.

The man was arrested at his home in north Belfast and held for several hours.

Although he was later released without charge, police tonight said a report has been sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions.

Officers from the force’s major investigation team interviewed him about a man’s murder in Belfast at the height of the Troubles.

The victim, a civilian, was killed in the late 1980s, security sources confirmed. His identity was being withheld until relatives were informed of the development.

As Sinn Féin hit out at the arrest, the party activist quizzed by detectives consulted lawyers.

He is understood to be a republican activist who has been involved in community work for years but never stood as an election candidate.

Eoin O’Broin, Sinn Féin’s north Belfast councillor, claimed earlier that heavily armed PSNI officers raided the home.

“The man has been arrested and taken to the police interrogation centre in Antrim,” he said. “This man has been the target for PSNI Special Branch operations over the past two years.”