OMAGH BOMB DEFENDANT LOSES BATTLE TO BE FREED
Omagh bomb defendant loses battle to be freed
ONE of the men found liable for the Omagh bombing has lost his High Court bid to be released from jail in the north.
Liam Campbell is being held in custody while Lithuanian authorities seek his extradition over an alleged arms-smuggling plot.
His lawyers applied for a writ of habeas corpus by claiming his continued detention at Maghaberry Prison was unlawful.
They combined their request to have him let out of jail with an attempt to quash the decision to hold extradition proceedings in Belfast rather than Dublin.
However, after hearing the case judges dismissed both applications and said they would give their reasons at a later date.
Lord Justice Higgins told the court they had decided to announce their decision within days of the hearing because Campbell's potential liberty was at stake.
The 46-year-old, from Upper Faughart, Dundalk, Co Louth, is wanted in Lithuania over a suspected operation to acquire and ship guns, ammunition and explosives from the eastern European state to Ireland.
In June he was held to be responsible, along with three other men, for the Omagh bombing following a landmark civil action brought by relatives of some of the 29 people killed in the August 1998 blast.
A judge declared there was cogent evidence that Campbell was a member of the Real IRA's army council.
He was arrested in south Armagh in May after crossing the border to take his wife to work.
Earlier this month Belfast recorder Tom Burgess ruled that the extradition hearing should take place in Northern Ireland because Lithuania wanted the case to be heard within UK jurisdiction.
Seeking leave to apply for a judicial review, Cambell's barrister, Edward Fitzgerald QC, argued that Mr Justice Burgess had got it wrong.
Mr Fitzgerald claimed that launching proceedings in Northern Ireland interfered with the due process that was already under way in the Republic.
He backed this with a habeas corpus claim that his client was being unlawfully detained.
However, Gerry Simpson QC, for the Lithuanian government, cautioned against any suggestion of scheming or manipulation in the case.
He also pointed out that an arrest warrant in the Republic had been withdrawn after the decision was reached to proceed in Northern Ireland.
ONE of the men found liable for the Omagh bombing has lost his High Court bid to be released from jail in the north.
Liam Campbell is being held in custody while Lithuanian authorities seek his extradition over an alleged arms-smuggling plot.
His lawyers applied for a writ of habeas corpus by claiming his continued detention at Maghaberry Prison was unlawful.
They combined their request to have him let out of jail with an attempt to quash the decision to hold extradition proceedings in Belfast rather than Dublin.
However, after hearing the case judges dismissed both applications and said they would give their reasons at a later date.
Lord Justice Higgins told the court they had decided to announce their decision within days of the hearing because Campbell's potential liberty was at stake.
The 46-year-old, from Upper Faughart, Dundalk, Co Louth, is wanted in Lithuania over a suspected operation to acquire and ship guns, ammunition and explosives from the eastern European state to Ireland.
In June he was held to be responsible, along with three other men, for the Omagh bombing following a landmark civil action brought by relatives of some of the 29 people killed in the August 1998 blast.
A judge declared there was cogent evidence that Campbell was a member of the Real IRA's army council.
He was arrested in south Armagh in May after crossing the border to take his wife to work.
Earlier this month Belfast recorder Tom Burgess ruled that the extradition hearing should take place in Northern Ireland because Lithuania wanted the case to be heard within UK jurisdiction.
Seeking leave to apply for a judicial review, Cambell's barrister, Edward Fitzgerald QC, argued that Mr Justice Burgess had got it wrong.
Mr Fitzgerald claimed that launching proceedings in Northern Ireland interfered with the due process that was already under way in the Republic.
He backed this with a habeas corpus claim that his client was being unlawfully detained.
However, Gerry Simpson QC, for the Lithuanian government, cautioned against any suggestion of scheming or manipulation in the case.
He also pointed out that an arrest warrant in the Republic had been withdrawn after the decision was reached to proceed in Northern Ireland.
Further Information
Publisher: THE IRISH NEWS
Ref: IN/1012
Published Date: 01-Aug-09
Related Images
