Derry man could face US sentence of up to 25 years

Sinn Féin and republican ex-prisoner groups are trying to secure the voluntary deportation from the United States of republican former prisoner Don Browne. The 44-year-old Derry man could face a jail sentence of 25 years in America after being arrested minutes after filling out immigration forms at Boston Airport on Thursday 13 November, as he arrived to attend a family wedding.

Browne has been held incommunicado in a Federal Detention Centre since his arrest.

The Derry man was due to return to Ireland on Monday 17 November. He will now face a detention hearing.

Sinn Féin Assembly candidate Mary Nelis said she has been in contact with the Department of Foreign Affairs in Dublin over Browne's detention and is trying to secure his voluntary deportation.