U.S. Extradites IRA Suspect to Northern Ireland
An alleged IRA member who escaped from prison in 1983 is back behind bars in Northern Ireland following his extradition from the United States, security sources in the British province said Sunday.
They said Jimmy Smyth is in Maghaberry jail, near the town of Lisburn, where he will serve the remaining 15 years of a prison term after being flown from San Francisco to Belfast, the capital of Northern Ireland.
A spokeswoman for Britain’s Northern Ireland Office said she could not confirm Smyth’s whereabouts, although she said he had been expected to return.
In San Francisco, Smyth’s fiancee expressed anger. “I’m in shock,” said Smyth’s fiancee, Julie Fishman. “I can’t believe this happened. We wanted to have a life.”
Smyth was one of 38 inmates who escaped 13 years ago from Maze Prison near Belfast, where he was serving a 20-year sentence for the attempted murder of an off-duty Northern Ireland prison guard.
Smyth had been fighting British demands for his extradition since being arrested in 1992 in San Francisco. His last hope of avoiding extradition vanished Saturday, when Secretary of State Warren Christopher signed the papers necessary for his return.
Smyth, a republican who seeks the unity of Ireland, has always protested his innocence on the attempted murder charge.
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