WE'LL GO TO COURT SAY OMAGH FAMILIES
WE'LL GO TO COURT SAY OMAGH FAMILIES
Civil action on cards against TV suspects
By Martin Breen
FAMILIES of the Omagh victims were today considering civil actions against the bomb suspects named on television.
Following last night's BBC Panorama programme in which four suspects were identified, relatives of those killed in the atrocity also called for Real IRA suspects to be tried for war crimes under international law.
While Michael Gallagher, whose son Aidan was killed in the bombing, and other relatives welcomed the BBC's decision to name four suspects, First Minister David Trimble has expressed concerned at the move.
Mr Gallagher told the Belfast Telegraph that bereaved families would be meeting soon to discuss the possibility of suing suspects.
He said today: "Looking at the assets of the people named in the programme last night probably makes it more feasible that we will take civil prosecutions.
"We feel that these people have to be held responsible in some manner and in some cases there could be better chances of success in a civil rather than a criminal case.
"We are looking at this and other options including having them tried as war criminals for what happened in Omagh.
"The murder of these innocent people was a war crime and against the Geneva Convention."
Mr Gallagher also maintained that those suspects who had refused to answer questions to police about the use of their mobile phones on the day of the explosion should be charged with withholding information.
Meanwhile Ulster Unionist leader and First Minister David Trimble has raised his concerns about the BBC investigation.
He said: "I am not sure whether that programme was done out of a genuine desire to serve the public or for the sake of sensation.
"I'd like the programme makers to go away and think about this matter.
"I'm not sure that it fits into any concept of public service broadcasting that I recognise."
The BBC was also condemned by shadow Northern Ireland secretary Andrew MacKay as "grossly irresponsible" for the decision to press ahead with naming the suspects.
BBC reporter John Ware confronted four men at their homes and businesses in the south Armagh and Dundalk areas asking them to explain their movements on August 15 1998, the day of the bomb.
All four men were said to be linked to mobile telephones investigated by police probing the bombing.
Of the four men named in the programme one is currently awaiting trial in the Republic accused of conspiring to cause the explosion.
Another was charged last week with membership of an illegal republican organisation. He does not face charges over the bombing.
Although the programme was welcomed in many quarters, the Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern raised concerns about it.
The High Court decision was announced just two hours before last night's broadcast after it rejected appeals by the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission and the husband of one of the victims to stop the programme.
Lawrence Rush, who lost his wife in the atrocity and who on Friday was refused his application to the High Court for an injunction banning the documentary, said he cried after the programme.
Civil action on cards against TV suspects
By Martin Breen
FAMILIES of the Omagh victims were today considering civil actions against the bomb suspects named on television.
Following last night's BBC Panorama programme in which four suspects were identified, relatives of those killed in the atrocity also called for Real IRA suspects to be tried for war crimes under international law.
While Michael Gallagher, whose son Aidan was killed in the bombing, and other relatives welcomed the BBC's decision to name four suspects, First Minister David Trimble has expressed concerned at the move.
Mr Gallagher told the Belfast Telegraph that bereaved families would be meeting soon to discuss the possibility of suing suspects.
He said today: "Looking at the assets of the people named in the programme last night probably makes it more feasible that we will take civil prosecutions.
"We feel that these people have to be held responsible in some manner and in some cases there could be better chances of success in a civil rather than a criminal case.
"We are looking at this and other options including having them tried as war criminals for what happened in Omagh.
"The murder of these innocent people was a war crime and against the Geneva Convention."
Mr Gallagher also maintained that those suspects who had refused to answer questions to police about the use of their mobile phones on the day of the explosion should be charged with withholding information.
Meanwhile Ulster Unionist leader and First Minister David Trimble has raised his concerns about the BBC investigation.
He said: "I am not sure whether that programme was done out of a genuine desire to serve the public or for the sake of sensation.
"I'd like the programme makers to go away and think about this matter.
"I'm not sure that it fits into any concept of public service broadcasting that I recognise."
The BBC was also condemned by shadow Northern Ireland secretary Andrew MacKay as "grossly irresponsible" for the decision to press ahead with naming the suspects.
BBC reporter John Ware confronted four men at their homes and businesses in the south Armagh and Dundalk areas asking them to explain their movements on August 15 1998, the day of the bomb.
All four men were said to be linked to mobile telephones investigated by police probing the bombing.
Of the four men named in the programme one is currently awaiting trial in the Republic accused of conspiring to cause the explosion.
Another was charged last week with membership of an illegal republican organisation. He does not face charges over the bombing.
Although the programme was welcomed in many quarters, the Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern raised concerns about it.
The High Court decision was announced just two hours before last night's broadcast after it rejected appeals by the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission and the husband of one of the victims to stop the programme.
Lawrence Rush, who lost his wife in the atrocity and who on Friday was refused his application to the High Court for an injunction banning the documentary, said he cried after the programme.
Further Information
Publisher: BELFAST TELEGRAPH
Ref: BT/0605
Published Date: 10-Oct-00
Related Images
There have been no images archived for this article.