Soldier killer could be released

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A Belfast soldier who murdered three of his Irish army colleagues can be considered for release next year.

Michael McAleavey was given a life sentence by an Irish military court for killing Peter Burke, Thomas Murphy and Gary Morrow in Lebanon in 1982.

Last month his lawyers asked the courts to decide how long he had to serve.

Lord Chief Justice Sir Brian Kerr told the Life Sentence Review Commission that McAleavey should serve 27 years from the date of his arrest.

That means McAleavey can apply for parole in 2009.

It will then be up to the Life Sentence Review Body to consider whether he is suitable for release.

He is one of the longest serving prisoners in Ireland.

The Irish government had already considered McAleavey, who is now 47, for release in the mid 1990s.

However, that process was suspended after McAleavey broke its terms.

He was transferred to a jail in Northern Ireland in 2007 to be near his family.