A 47-year-old man has been arrested in Belfast in connection with the murder of former IRA member Kevin McGuigan, an incident that has deepened the political crisis in Northern Ireland's power-sharing government. The suspect was detained on Monday evening and is being questioned at Musgrave Street police station, according to the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI).
McGuigan, a former IRA prisoner, was shot dead in front of his wife in August near his home in the Short Strand area of east Belfast. His family and republican sources have alleged that members of the Provisional IRA carried out the killing. PSNI Chief Constable George Hamilton later stated that individual PIRA activists were believed to be responsible, acting in retaliation for the murder of another IRA man, Gerard 'Jock' Davison, earlier this year.
The chief constable's assessment sparked protests from unionists, who argued that mainstream republicans had broken a promise to disband the PIRA as a paramilitary force—a key condition for unionist agreement to share power with Sinn Féin in 2007. The arrest comes ahead of the publication of a crucial report by legal and security experts, due on Tuesday afternoon, which will assess whether the PIRA and other paramilitary organisations still exist.
The findings of the report are expected to play a critical role in ongoing talks at Stormont House, aimed at resolving the political crisis affecting the Northern Ireland Assembly.
