BID TO HALT OMAGH MURDERS COURT CASE
Bid to halt Omagh murders court case
By Alan Erwin, PA
THE man accused of the Omagh bomb murders will attempt to have the case against him halted.
Electrician Sean Gerard Hoey (35), from south Armagh, is due to face 61 new charges when he appears in the dock in seven days' time.
But as prosecutors revealed the extra charges against him, which include the 29 murders in the 1998 Real IRA no-warning bomb attack, his solicitor hit out at how the case had been handled.
Peter Corrigan yesterday told Craigavon Magistrates Court that his client "was first interviewed in 1998 about Omagh and other offences".
"We submit that the prosecution has been conducted in a most unacceptable manner. The prosecution have manipulated the process," he said.
Hoey, who already faces a series of terrorist and explosive-related charges - including membership of the dissident republican organisation behind Northern Ireland's worst terrorist atrocity - is due to be formally charged wjth the murders following a major review of all available forensic evidence.
After studying a mammoth police file the director of public prosecutions directed that he could be accused.
But Mr Corrigan claimed that the court had been misled in the case against Hoey, of Molly Road, Jonesborough, and pledged to launch an abuse of process application in an attempt to have the proceedings stopped.
"Throughout earlier discussions about the case there was no mention of impending murder charges," he said.
"The delay was a breach of his human rights... and it's prejudicing our client in relation to receiving a fair trial."
Although relatives of some Omagh victims are taking a multi-million-pound civil action against five men they suspect of plotting the atrocity, no-one has ever been charged with the bombing.
But a prosecution lawyer confirmed yesterday that 61 new charges would be put to Hoey when he appears in court in person next week.
She did not refer to the Omagh killings but at an earlier hearing the Crown confirmed that the murder charges would be put to Hoey by the end of the month.
The accused appeared yesterday at the Co Armagh courthouse via video link from jail where he is on remand after being charged with involvement in bombings leading up to the strike on Omagh.
These include attacks in Co Armagh, Co Fermanagh, Banbridge and Newry, Co Down, as well as two in Belfast.
Michael Gallagher, whose 21-year-old son Aiden died at Omagh, was in court for the hearing.
Outside he said: "We are delighted to be here. It's progress in the investigation.
"I will certainly be back next week to see the result of the 61 charges that are being read out and I hope it will not be the last appearance we make in courthouses in connection with Omagh."
By Alan Erwin, PA
THE man accused of the Omagh bomb murders will attempt to have the case against him halted.
Electrician Sean Gerard Hoey (35), from south Armagh, is due to face 61 new charges when he appears in the dock in seven days' time.
But as prosecutors revealed the extra charges against him, which include the 29 murders in the 1998 Real IRA no-warning bomb attack, his solicitor hit out at how the case had been handled.
Peter Corrigan yesterday told Craigavon Magistrates Court that his client "was first interviewed in 1998 about Omagh and other offences".
"We submit that the prosecution has been conducted in a most unacceptable manner. The prosecution have manipulated the process," he said.
Hoey, who already faces a series of terrorist and explosive-related charges - including membership of the dissident republican organisation behind Northern Ireland's worst terrorist atrocity - is due to be formally charged wjth the murders following a major review of all available forensic evidence.
After studying a mammoth police file the director of public prosecutions directed that he could be accused.
But Mr Corrigan claimed that the court had been misled in the case against Hoey, of Molly Road, Jonesborough, and pledged to launch an abuse of process application in an attempt to have the proceedings stopped.
"Throughout earlier discussions about the case there was no mention of impending murder charges," he said.
"The delay was a breach of his human rights... and it's prejudicing our client in relation to receiving a fair trial."
Although relatives of some Omagh victims are taking a multi-million-pound civil action against five men they suspect of plotting the atrocity, no-one has ever been charged with the bombing.
But a prosecution lawyer confirmed yesterday that 61 new charges would be put to Hoey when he appears in court in person next week.
She did not refer to the Omagh killings but at an earlier hearing the Crown confirmed that the murder charges would be put to Hoey by the end of the month.
The accused appeared yesterday at the Co Armagh courthouse via video link from jail where he is on remand after being charged with involvement in bombings leading up to the strike on Omagh.
These include attacks in Co Armagh, Co Fermanagh, Banbridge and Newry, Co Down, as well as two in Belfast.
Michael Gallagher, whose 21-year-old son Aiden died at Omagh, was in court for the hearing.
Outside he said: "We are delighted to be here. It's progress in the investigation.
"I will certainly be back next week to see the result of the 61 charges that are being read out and I hope it will not be the last appearance we make in courthouses in connection with Omagh."
Further Information
Publisher: THE IRISH NEWS
Ref: IN/0741
Published Date: 20-May-05
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