BT/1018

Omagh accused in court at last
Victims' relatives gather as postponed trial finally begins
BY JONATHAN McCAMBRIDGE
CRIME CORRESPONDENT

RELATIVES of the Omagh bombing victims gathered today as the trial of the man accused of carrying out the biggest act of mass murder during the Troubles opened at Belfast Crown court.
The case against Sean Hoey (37) - who denies 29 murders and multiple terrorist offences - had been due to begin earlier this month but was dramatically postponed after his lawyer fell ill.
This morning Hoey (37), of Molly Road, Jonesborough, sat in the dock surrounded by two court guards. He denies 58 offences including 29 murders.
Opening the case prosecution counsel Gordon Kerr QC said: "The accused is charged on an indictment containing 58 counts, he has pleaded not guilty to all the counts.
"The case arises from a series of bomb attacks and attempted bombings in 1998 which the prosecution say were part of a violent campaign leading up to and following the Good Friday Agreement in April 1998.
"The prosecution will say that the fact that this was a campaign by republicans will be established by the targets chosen for attack, the forensic evidence as to the construction of the devices, and in the case of car bombs, by the warnings given and the claims of responsibility for them using a recognised code word associated with dissident republican terrorists."
Families of some of the victims, who have waited more than eight years for justice, were in court while others watched the proceedings on a unique live video link which has been set up at Omagh College.
The trial is expected to be one of the most expensive ever in Northern Ireland.
Figures obtained by the Belfast Telegraph reveal that more than £80,000 of legal aid payments have already been made before the case opens.
A spokesman for the Legal Services Commission confirmed to this newspaper that Hoey was in receipt of legal aid and that interim payments had been made to expert witnesses.
He added: "To date £81,952.20 has been paid in this case. This figure will be subject to scrutiny and assessment and may well be changed following the Taxing Masters review at the end of the case.
"This total incorporates seven separate interim disbursement payments to expert witnesses."
The no-warning 5001b bomb ripped through the Tyrone town in August 1998, killing 29 people, including the mother of unborn twins, and injuring hundreds of others.
Michael Gallagher, who lost his son in the atrocity, said he hoped today would mark the beginning of the road to justice for the families.
He said: "We are ready. I did not sleep too well last night. We have waited eight years for this day. The least that we expect is that the process of justice will begin."
Last week the Court Service confirmed that a video link had been set up between the court and Omagh College.
The unprecedented link will run for the duration of the trial and will include a 42-inch plasma TV and a projector screen.
The trial, which will be presided over by Mr Justice Weir, is expected to take in excess of four months. It is one of the last major non-jury trials in Northern Ireland. The prosecution case is largely built around forensic evidence allegedly uncovered from DNA testing.
Hoey faces a total of 58 charges relating not only to the Omagh bomb atrocity, but to six other murder conspiracies, five bombings, four bomb conspiracies, and the possession of explosives including timer power units, mortar bombs and bombs.
The six murder conspiracies against members of the security forces were allegedly planned for Blackwaterstown Road, Armagh, Altmore Forest, Dungannon, The G30 Military Base, Crossmaglen and Forkhill RUC/Army Base, Belleek RUC Station and Newry RUC Station.
Hoey also denies and is charged with possessing bomb timer power units and causing mortar bomb explosions at Crossmaglen, Forkhill, Belleek and Newry RUC Station.