"A 65-year-old man arrested by detectives investigating the abduction and murder of Jean McConville has been released pending report to PPS (Public Prosecution Service for Northern Ireland)," said a statement issued by the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) on Sunday.

Adam's departure from the police's main interrogation center in Antrim, west of Belfast, was delayed for two hours by a Protestant protest outside the gates. Police reportedly escorted him out via a rear entrance.

Prosecutors are next expected to decide whether there is enough evidence to charge the leader of the Sinn Fein political party, or whether prosecution would be in the public interest.

Gerry Adams (pcitured in file photo), a key figure in the peace process, was arrested last Wednesday in connection with the death of Jean McConville.

The mother-of-ten was abducted from her home in 1972. Her remains were found in 2003.

Protestors block departure

Loyalist anti-Adams demonstrators gathered outside Antrim police station, where the republican leader was due to emerge after his questioning.

Adams' Sinn Fein party had described his arrest last Wednesday as politically motivated, and warned that it could damage the still-fragile peace process in the British province.

The IRA abducted, killed and secretly buried McConville. It did not admit responsibility until 1999, when the underground organization defended its action by claiming she had been an inforner for the British Army.

McConville's remains were found accidentally in 2003 across the border near beach in the Republic of Ireland. A 2006 investigation by Northern Ireland's police complaints watchdog found that there was no evidence that she had been a spy.

bk/ipj (AFP, AP)