MACKEY HELD IN OMAGH BOMB PROBE
Mackey held in Omagh bomb probe
By JEANETTE OLDHAM
FRANCIE Mackey, chairman of the 32-County Sovereignty Committee, was last night being quizzed over the Omagh bombing.
Mackey, 44, was arrested at Tyrone and Fermanagh Hospital, where he works as a psychiatric nurse, and taken to the Strand Road RUC station in Londonderry for questioning.
His home in Mountfield, seven miles from Omagh, was also searched during a series of police raids in which three other men were detained elsewhere in the Province.
Last night his family, including his son Shane who was also quizzed at the time of the bombing, remained tight-lipped about the independent councillor's arrest, which brings to six the number of men held in Northern Ireland.
Mackey has ignored public calls for him to resign from council office, quit his job and leave the area because of his party's links with the Real IRA bombers, and his refusal to condemn the atrocity.
A former Sinn Fein councillor, he split from that party because of his opposition to their stance on the peace process.
Meanwhile, another three men were picked up in the Crossmaglen and Cullaville areas of south Armagh in security force swoops and a number of properties searched.
Among the men in custody is Crossmaglen man Gerard McDonald.
Three men are still being interviewed in Monaghan after raids in the border areas of the Republic on Sunday.
Two others held in Carrickmacross have been released.
Those being held in the Republic must either be charged or be released this morning after their 48 hours in custody.
Those arrested in Northern Ireland can be detained for a further five days.
The latest wave of arrests brings to more than 40 the number of people arrested following the blast which killed 29 people and injured nearly 300.
Bernadette Sands-McKevitt, the 32 County-Sovereignty Committee vice chair, last night claimed the arrests were politically motivated.
"The cynical timing of these arrests cannot be overlooked. We call all those who support freedom of speech and the right of free political thought to condemn this latest wave of harassment," she said.
By JEANETTE OLDHAM
FRANCIE Mackey, chairman of the 32-County Sovereignty Committee, was last night being quizzed over the Omagh bombing.
Mackey, 44, was arrested at Tyrone and Fermanagh Hospital, where he works as a psychiatric nurse, and taken to the Strand Road RUC station in Londonderry for questioning.
His home in Mountfield, seven miles from Omagh, was also searched during a series of police raids in which three other men were detained elsewhere in the Province.
Last night his family, including his son Shane who was also quizzed at the time of the bombing, remained tight-lipped about the independent councillor's arrest, which brings to six the number of men held in Northern Ireland.
Mackey has ignored public calls for him to resign from council office, quit his job and leave the area because of his party's links with the Real IRA bombers, and his refusal to condemn the atrocity.
A former Sinn Fein councillor, he split from that party because of his opposition to their stance on the peace process.
Meanwhile, another three men were picked up in the Crossmaglen and Cullaville areas of south Armagh in security force swoops and a number of properties searched.
Among the men in custody is Crossmaglen man Gerard McDonald.
Three men are still being interviewed in Monaghan after raids in the border areas of the Republic on Sunday.
Two others held in Carrickmacross have been released.
Those being held in the Republic must either be charged or be released this morning after their 48 hours in custody.
Those arrested in Northern Ireland can be detained for a further five days.
The latest wave of arrests brings to more than 40 the number of people arrested following the blast which killed 29 people and injured nearly 300.
Bernadette Sands-McKevitt, the 32 County-Sovereignty Committee vice chair, last night claimed the arrests were politically motivated.
"The cynical timing of these arrests cannot be overlooked. We call all those who support freedom of speech and the right of free political thought to condemn this latest wave of harassment," she said.
Further Information
Publisher: NEWS LETTER
Ref: NL/204
Published Date: 23-Feb-99
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