Loyalist wins firearm appeal

Andre Shoukri has won his appeal

A leading member of the Ulster Defence Association has won an appeal against a six-year jail term on a firearms charge.

But Andre Shoukri, 26, from Sunninghill Gardens in north Belfast, has not been freed from jail.

Appeal Court judges reserved their decision on a plea to reduce Shoukri's concurrent two-year sentence for having a gun without a firearms certificate at Rathcoole a year ago.

Shoukri was convicted in July of possessing a gun and ammunition in suspicious circumstances. On Thursday, that appeal was upheld by three judges.

The trial judge, Lord Justice McCollum, had earlier acquitted him on a charge of possessing the gun with intent to endanger life.

Shoukri had claimed he had the gun for his own protection because of threats to his life which had been conveyed to him by police.

Arthur Harvey, QC, told an earlier hearing that no offence was committed if an accused could establish that he had a weapon for a reasonable object - to protect his life.

'Excessive sentence'

He submitted the conviction was "perverse" because it was incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights which guaranteed a presumption of innocence.

John Creaney, QC, said Shoukri's own evidence in cross-examination was such that the court could hold that the Crown had proved beyond reasonable doubt that he did not have the weapon in his possession for a lawful object.

On Thursday, after a short adjournment the Lord Chief Justice, Sir Robert Carswell, sitting with Lord Justice Nicholson and Mr Justice Kerr, said they had decided to uphold the appeal.

Mr Harvey then submitted that the two-year sentence for not having a firearms' certificate was excessive as Shoukri had now been cleared of both firearms charges.

The judges adjourned for a second time and when they returned the Lord Chief Justice said they were reserving judgement on the appeal against sentence.

"Obviously it is desirable that we should give it as quickly as we can and when we do so we will give our reasons for allowing the appeal," added Sir Robert.