OMAGH FAMILIES DENIED JUSTICE
Omagh families denied justice
IN THE wake of the Omagh bombing in August 1998 the Irish and British governments vowed to bring to justice those responsible for the slaughter of 29 men, women and children as well as unborn twins.
The hollowness of that pledge - already exposed by the Police Ombudsman's damning investigation - has been further underlined by the excoriating judgment in the trial of Sean Hoey.
While relatives were being assured that everything possible was being done to track down the bombers, at the most basic level police could not even ensure potential evidence was dealt with in a professional and appropriate manner.
In the words of Mr Justice Weir, the handling, storage and tracking of exhibits was disorganised, thoughtless and slapdash.
Both the RUC and the forensic science service were severely criticised by the judge who also accused two police officers of lying in their evidence to the court, which is a disturbing state of affairs.
Lawrence Rushe, whose wife died in the bombing, described the police investigation into the atrocity as "a disaster" and on the basis of yesterday's judgment, it would be difficult to form any other conclusion.
After almost 10 years the families are no strangers to pain and disappointment but yesterday represented a further low.
On the basis of the evidence Sean Hoey has been acquitted.
But the authorities are guilty of an abject failure to provide justice for the victims and the ramifications of this damaging verdict will be felt for some time to come.
IN THE wake of the Omagh bombing in August 1998 the Irish and British governments vowed to bring to justice those responsible for the slaughter of 29 men, women and children as well as unborn twins.
The hollowness of that pledge - already exposed by the Police Ombudsman's damning investigation - has been further underlined by the excoriating judgment in the trial of Sean Hoey.
While relatives were being assured that everything possible was being done to track down the bombers, at the most basic level police could not even ensure potential evidence was dealt with in a professional and appropriate manner.
In the words of Mr Justice Weir, the handling, storage and tracking of exhibits was disorganised, thoughtless and slapdash.
Both the RUC and the forensic science service were severely criticised by the judge who also accused two police officers of lying in their evidence to the court, which is a disturbing state of affairs.
Lawrence Rushe, whose wife died in the bombing, described the police investigation into the atrocity as "a disaster" and on the basis of yesterday's judgment, it would be difficult to form any other conclusion.
After almost 10 years the families are no strangers to pain and disappointment but yesterday represented a further low.
On the basis of the evidence Sean Hoey has been acquitted.
But the authorities are guilty of an abject failure to provide justice for the victims and the ramifications of this damaging verdict will be felt for some time to come.
Further Information
Publisher: THE IRISH NEWS
Ref: IN/0863
Published Date: 21-Dec-07
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