Terrorism-related Irishman gets 12 years in prison

VILNIUS - On Oct. 21, the first ever terrorism-related person was sentenced in Lithuania: Judge Arunas Kisielius sentenced Irish citizen Michael Campbell, 39, to 12 years in prison for his attempt to smuggle weapons for the Real IRA from Lithuania to the UK. Before the verdict announcement, Campbell posed for photo and TV journalists, keeping his fist raised, but he did not answer the journalists’ questions. During the verdict reading and afterwards, he kept smiling. The Real IRA terrorist group, unlike the well-known IRA, continues its armed fight against British rule in Northern Ireland.

The Real IRA was set up in 1997 after the mainstream IRA declared a ceasefire. The Real IRA has claimed responsibility for a number of serious attacks, including the murder of two young British soldiers in Northern Ireland two years ago. Liam Campbell, brother of the sentenced Michael Campbell, is believed to be a senior chief in Real IRA. The Lithuanian authorities seek the extradition of Liam Campbell from Belfast, Northern Ireland, due to the same case of attempt to smuggle weapons. Liam Campbell denies his connection with his brother in an arms dealing attempt in Lithuania.

“The sentenced can be appealed within 20 days, after he gets translation of the sentence,” Judge Kisielius said. Gedgaudas Norkunas, chief prosecutor of the Organized Crimes and Corruption Investigation Department in the Lithuanian Prosecutor General’s Office, had requested 16 years of imprisonment for Michael Campbell. “The Real IRA was ready to spend 100,000 euros for this arms purchase and such weapons would pose a danger in the UK,” Prosecutor Norkunas said.
The judge gave 12 years in jail for the Irishman, stating that Campbell has a family, has committed no crimes before, his actions were under the control of the secret services, and no concrete harm was done. However, the judge said that Campbell acted with premeditation and he was a member of an organized group. The sentenced had tried to buy weapons from intelligence officers posing as international arms dealers.

The British Internet media is full of video and audio proof of Campbell’s terrorism-related intentions. Campbell was filmed checking the condition of would-be purchased rifles in Lithuania. Credit for this secret footage in Lithuania is given by the British media to the British secret service MI5. The BBC video can be found here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-15388614. Campbell, when he was asked by ‘an arms dealer’ who will be the targets, answered straightforward: “Brits.” Campbell’s list of desired weapons included, among other arms, explosives, sniper rifles and hand grenades. Campbell was bugged during his conversation when he spoke about the possibility of planting a bomb in London, according to the BBC.
Ingrida Botyriene, defense lawyer for Campbell, emphasized that no real crime was committed. “He was provoked. All the conversation was a part of a provocation,” Botyriene said after the verdict’s announcement.

She described the jailing conditions of Campbell as very bad and stated that now, after the verdict was announced, he will get better prison conditions. Botyriene said that it is possible that Campbell will ask to be moved to a prison in Ireland. “You also would prefer to be jailed in Ireland,” she told The Baltic Times and British journalists from The Daily Telegraph, The Times, Daily Mail and The Sun in the courtroom after the announcement of the verdict. Such a possibility for transfer to another country’s prison exists within the EU, although an Irish court would need to confirm the judgment of the Lithuanian court in such a case. Campbell was arrested in Lithuania in January 2008. He has been jailed since then and these three years of imprisonment are included in the 12 year sentence – it means he will be imprisoned for eight more years, unless he is released earlier for good behavior.

The verdict announcement attracted crowds of British journalists. Some British TV channels broadcast the verdict’s announcement live. The last trial in Vilnius which attracted such great international interest, was back in 2004 when crowds of journalists from French-speaking countries arrived to report about the trial of French rock singer Bertrand Cantat, who killed his girlfriend, film actress Marie Trintignant, in Vilnius in 2003.