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	Two brothers jailed for rape have had their convictions quashed after a key prosecution witness alleged he had been pressurised by gardai into saying he saw the two men at the door of the hotel where the alleged rape occurred.</p>
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	The three judge Court of Criminal Appeal (CCA) said it will deliver written reasons for its judgment in &quot;the fullness of time&quot;.</p>
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	The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) will not seek a retrial and gardai have acknowledged that the accusations levelled against members of the force &quot;would be extremely damaging&quot;.</p>
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	Yesterday the CCA said the court wished to emphasise that the evidence heard at the brothers&#39; appeal would have &quot;rendered it extremely difficult&quot; for any prosecution in a retrial, and said it believed the DPP&#39;s decision was &quot;an entirely appropriate one&quot;.</p>
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	An internal garda investigation cleared gardai of any wrongdoing and found the allegations were &quot;without foundation&quot;.</p>
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	Presiding CCA judge Mr Justice John MacMenamin yesterday said the appeal court had taken the view that the convictions of Eamonn Flanagan (42) of Dunamaise, Stradbally and Seamus Flanagan (35) of Ashley Gardens, Portlaoise, were unsafe. The brothers were jailed for three years by Mr Justice Garrett Sheehan in October 2011 after a Central Criminal Court jury convicted them of raping a woman in a room at the Red Cow Hotel in Dublin on March 3, 2008.</p>
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	Seamus Flanagan had pleaded not guilty to the anal and vaginal rape of the woman at the hotel, while Eamonn Flanagan pleaded not guilty to vaginal rape of the woman.</p>
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	The appeal court heard that after the brothers were convicted, a key prosecution witness claimed he was pressurised by gardai to say he saw the two men at the door of the hotel room where the alleged rape occurred.</p>
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	The witness, Daniel Lynch, was a friend of the accused men and had consensual sex with the woman shortly before the brothers were accused of raping her. No DNA from the brothers was found on the woman. In an affidavit, Mr Lynch claimed he was put under &quot;emotional&quot; pressure.</p>
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	The court heard that the gardai involved &quot;categorically deny&quot; putting Mr Lynch under any pressure.</p>
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	<a href="http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/courts/brothers-unsafe-rape-convictions-are-quashed-30634323.html">http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/courts/brothers-unsafe-rape-convictions-are-quashed-30634323.html</a></p>
