Creeslough man John Downey has been extradited to the UK after handing himself over to Gardai.
Downey handed himself in this afternoon, after he lost an appeal to challenge the extradition in July this year.
A Garda spokesman confirmed “An Garda Siochana arrested a male in his sixties earlier today 11 October 2019.
“This male has been extradited to Northern Ireland in accordance with an EAW (European Arrest Warrant) issued by the PSNI.”
The 67-year-old Donegal man will now face trial in the UK.
Downey was arrested at his home in Donegal in October last year under a European Arrest Warrant after authorities in Northern Ireland determined they had sufficient evidence to charge him with the murders of Lance Corporal Alfred Johnston, 32, and Private James Eames, 33.
The soldiers died in a car bomb attack in Enniskillen, Co Fermanagh, in August 1972.
A PSNI spokesperson said Mr Downey is expected to appear before Omagh Magistrates’ Court tomorrow morning.
“The PSNI has been liaising closely with An Garda Siochana and today’s arrest demonstrates the benefits of joint working between police forces and other national partner agencies,” they said.
“Lance Corporal Alfred Johnston – a father of four – and Private James Eames – a father of three – died when a device exploded in a car they were checking on the Irvinestown Road, Cherrymount, Enniskillen in 1972.
“The PSNI investigation into these murders remains active.”
In 2013, Downey was charged with murdering four Royal Household Cavalrymen in a bomb attack in London’s Hyde Park in 1982.
He was tried at the Old Bailey in 2014 but the case dramatically collapsed after it was revealed he had received a written assurance from former prime minister Tony Blair’s government that he was not actively wanted by the authorities.
The letter was allegedly issued under the terms of the controversial On The Runs (OTRs) scheme.
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