OMAGH BOMB CHARGE MAN DUE IN COURT
Omagh bomb charge man due in court
By PA Reporter
COMMITTAL proceedings against an electrician accused of murdering 29 people in the Omagh bomb massacre were set to begin in Belfast today.
Sean Hoey, (35), is due to appear at the city's Magistrates' Court for the preliminary hearing which is scheduled to last three days.
He has been on remand accused of 61 terrorist and explosives offences, including the no-warning Real IRA strike on Omagh seven years ago.
Legal representatives from Hoey, of Molly Road, Jonesborough, in south Armagh, had earlier attempted to have crucial evidence from a forensic scientist declared inadmissible.
A defence solicitor stressed that the key witness only said it was possible that the same man constructed the 5001b car bomb used in the Omagh attack and other devices linked to Hoey.
Although the bid was rejected, the argument is expected to resurface during the committal hearing.
As well as the 29 people killed when the huge bomb devastated the Tyrone market town in August 1998, hundreds more were injured.
Hoey was charged with the murders earlier this year after police carried out a mammoth re-examination of the evidence.
Hoey, who is being held at Maghaberry Prison, near Lisburn, Co Antrim, was already facing explosive charges including possessing timer units allegedly linked to several mortar, car and roadside bombs in the months before Omagh.
By PA Reporter
COMMITTAL proceedings against an electrician accused of murdering 29 people in the Omagh bomb massacre were set to begin in Belfast today.
Sean Hoey, (35), is due to appear at the city's Magistrates' Court for the preliminary hearing which is scheduled to last three days.
He has been on remand accused of 61 terrorist and explosives offences, including the no-warning Real IRA strike on Omagh seven years ago.
Legal representatives from Hoey, of Molly Road, Jonesborough, in south Armagh, had earlier attempted to have crucial evidence from a forensic scientist declared inadmissible.
A defence solicitor stressed that the key witness only said it was possible that the same man constructed the 5001b car bomb used in the Omagh attack and other devices linked to Hoey.
Although the bid was rejected, the argument is expected to resurface during the committal hearing.
As well as the 29 people killed when the huge bomb devastated the Tyrone market town in August 1998, hundreds more were injured.
Hoey was charged with the murders earlier this year after police carried out a mammoth re-examination of the evidence.
Hoey, who is being held at Maghaberry Prison, near Lisburn, Co Antrim, was already facing explosive charges including possessing timer units allegedly linked to several mortar, car and roadside bombs in the months before Omagh.
Further Information
Publisher: BELFAST TELEGRAPH
Ref: BT/0975
Published Date: 30-Aug-05
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