Appeal against conviction for conspiracy to pervert course of justice dismissed following Mountjoy Prison witness interference

The Court of Appeal dismissed an appeal against conviction by an individual who had been found guilty by the Special Criminal Court of conspiring to pervert the course of public justice. The conviction arose from a conspiracy in Mountjoy Prison to persuade a key prosecution witness not to give evidence in a high-profile murder trial. The appellant argued that persuasion alone, without unlawful means, should not constitute a criminal offence and that the indictment was defective. The Court rejected these arguments, finding the indictment sufficiently clear and the evidence ample to show that improper means were deployed, including unauthorised use and dissemination of a witness statement. The Court affirmed the lower court's approach, holding that the appellant's actions were not merely benign persuasion but formed part of an unlawful attempt to undermine the judicial process.