Psychiatric reports have been ordered into a Derry man charged with a number of terrorist offences, including assisting in the IRA killing of a young police officer in the city almost 20 years ago, to ascertain if the case can proceed against him.
Shot dead: Constable Michael Ferguson.
Defence lawyer for 40-year-old Christopher O’Kane, from Kular Court in the city, told Derry Magistrates Court this morning there were “real concerns” for the accused’s mental state as he had been detained in the secure psychiatric unit at Gransha Hospital on several occasions during the past four months.
Among the charges O’Kane faces is one of assisting those involved in the shooting dead of 21-year-old Constable Michael Ferguson.
Constable Ferguson, a Catholic from Omagh, was shot dead in Shipquay Street in January 1993
O’Kane is also accused of attempting to murder a soldier and two military police officers in separate attacks at army bases in Fort George and Ebrington.
The accused was due to be put forward to a preliminary enquiry this morning. However, following the application by the defence solicitor, Resident Magistrate adjourned the case to allow for the psychiatric assessment.
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