Christopher Paul O’Kane, a 50-year-old man from Feeny, was back in court today after refusing to have an electronic tag fitted. O’Kane had been granted High Court bail just a day earlier by Mr Justice Humphries. He is accused of possessing two mobile phones for the purposes of preparing terrorist acts and having information likely to be useful to terrorists, specifically a spreadsheet of police officers’ names.
During the bail application at the High Court, it was revealed that O’Kane had a spreadsheet containing the names of every member of the police force on his phone. This data breach occurred in August when the police mistakenly released the names of over 10,000 staff and officers under a Freedom of Information request.
According to the prosecution, the spreadsheet of officers’ names was sent to one of O’Kane’s devices via WhatsApp message and downloaded before the message was deleted. The information was still accessible offline. The court heard that O’Kane, who is described as highly efficient in technology, allegedly tried to wipe his digital footprint. Sections of the material sent to his phone were highlighted, including those featuring senior executive teams in the PSNI and officers based in the Londonderry area. Two officers were specifically highlighted, one who had multiple dealings with O’Kane and another who was previously targeted in a dissident republican bomb attack.
The prosecution also revealed that shortly after receiving the WhatsApp message, O’Kane accessed a website used to search for residential addresses. O’Kane’s defense counsel, Joe Brolly, argued that his client is a “computer geek” who became a suspect due to his links with Irish republicanism. O’Kane worked as an IT consultant and served as an administrator for websites run by Irish republican groups.
In court today, it was outlined that G4S attended O’Kane’s bail address to fit the electronic tag and monitoring equipment, but he refused to comply. Less than 12 hours prior, Mr Justice Humphries had gone through the bail conditions with O’Kane and his partner to ensure they understood the terms. However, O’Kane refused to provide personal details to confirm his identity and also refused to have the monitoring tag fitted.
O’Kane’s defense solicitor argued that his non-cooperation was due to the strong medication he takes for a psychotic condition. He claimed it was not a conscious refusal on O’Kane’s part. The defense solicitor revealed that O’Kane’s partner contacted the police this morning to say that he would be willing to comply.
Despite this, District Judge Alan White questioned why O’Kane’s partner did not suggest compliance last night. The prosecutor also noted that there was no mention of strong anti-psychotic medication during the bail application at the High Court.
Judge White ultimately decided to remand O’Kane back into custody and refused bail. The case has been adjourned until September 18th.