POLICE TO RE-EXAMINE CASE OF OMAGH BOMB ACQUITTAL
Police to re-examine case of Omagh bomb acquittal
BY DAVID YOUNG
oewseditor@belfasttelegraph.co.uk
EVIDENCE is being re-examined to establish whether there are grounds to retry the man acquitted of the 29 murders of the Omagh bombing, the PSNI said.
It comes after two officers accused of lying in the Crown Court trial of Co Armagh electrician Sean Hoey (38), were cleared by the Police Ombudsman. In December 2007, Hoey was found not guilty of the bombing and a series of Real IRA attacks around that time.
In his judgment, trial judge Mr Justice Reg Weir criticised the evidence presented by the prosecution and in particular accused two scene-of-crime officers of misleading the court on material recovered from the scene of a bomb find in a forest in Co Tyrone.
But earlier this year ombudsman Al Hutchinson cleared the officers of a deliberate deception and questioned the defence team's claim that evidence from Altmore Forest was wrongly handled.
On the back of these findings, the police have now undertaken a comprehensive review of all the evidence from Altmore and the other Real IRA attacks, including Omagh, to see if a new case can be brought against Hoey.
Assistant Chief Constable Drew Harris gave details of the re-examination during a meeting of the Policing Board in Belfast yesterday.
He said: "What we are looking for is new evidential opportunities, realistically we have to find substantial new evidence if there is any possibility of a criminal prosecution."
Hoey was acquitted of 56 criminal charges, including the 29 murders, in Belfast Crown Court.
Hoey's lawyer said last night that his client was an innocent man who was in danger of being re-tried by the media.
Kevin Winters said: "Sean Hoey was acquitted of involvement in Omagh after an intensive examination of the evidence in the case. He is an innocent man. There are no grounds for a retrial. Any suggestion to the contrary amounts to an abuse of process.
"The remarks following the Policing Board meeting today and subsequent reporting amounts to retrial by media.
"Both the judgment and transcript of the Crown Court trial record in the clearest possible terms the state of the evidence in this case. We would remind all media sources to be mindful of that when reporting the latest development."
Meanwhile, the Public Prosecution Service announced that it was examining the findings of the Omagh civil case to see if it provided a basis on which to bring fresh criminal proceedings.
BY DAVID YOUNG
oewseditor@belfasttelegraph.co.uk
EVIDENCE is being re-examined to establish whether there are grounds to retry the man acquitted of the 29 murders of the Omagh bombing, the PSNI said.
It comes after two officers accused of lying in the Crown Court trial of Co Armagh electrician Sean Hoey (38), were cleared by the Police Ombudsman. In December 2007, Hoey was found not guilty of the bombing and a series of Real IRA attacks around that time.
In his judgment, trial judge Mr Justice Reg Weir criticised the evidence presented by the prosecution and in particular accused two scene-of-crime officers of misleading the court on material recovered from the scene of a bomb find in a forest in Co Tyrone.
But earlier this year ombudsman Al Hutchinson cleared the officers of a deliberate deception and questioned the defence team's claim that evidence from Altmore Forest was wrongly handled.
On the back of these findings, the police have now undertaken a comprehensive review of all the evidence from Altmore and the other Real IRA attacks, including Omagh, to see if a new case can be brought against Hoey.
Assistant Chief Constable Drew Harris gave details of the re-examination during a meeting of the Policing Board in Belfast yesterday.
He said: "What we are looking for is new evidential opportunities, realistically we have to find substantial new evidence if there is any possibility of a criminal prosecution."
Hoey was acquitted of 56 criminal charges, including the 29 murders, in Belfast Crown Court.
Hoey's lawyer said last night that his client was an innocent man who was in danger of being re-tried by the media.
Kevin Winters said: "Sean Hoey was acquitted of involvement in Omagh after an intensive examination of the evidence in the case. He is an innocent man. There are no grounds for a retrial. Any suggestion to the contrary amounts to an abuse of process.
"The remarks following the Policing Board meeting today and subsequent reporting amounts to retrial by media.
"Both the judgment and transcript of the Crown Court trial record in the clearest possible terms the state of the evidence in this case. We would remind all media sources to be mindful of that when reporting the latest development."
Meanwhile, the Public Prosecution Service announced that it was examining the findings of the Omagh civil case to see if it provided a basis on which to bring fresh criminal proceedings.
Further Information
Publisher: BELFAST TELEGRAPH
Ref: BT/1158
Published Date: 12-Jun-09
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