HOEY SPEAKS OF RELIEF AT BEING CLEARED OF OMAGH CHARGES
Hoey speaks of relief at being cleared of Omagh charges
BY ROSETTA DONNELLY
SEAN Hoey, the man cleared of Omagh bombing charges, has spoken for the first time about his relief at being free and said he genuinely feared he would spend the rest of his days in prison.
Describing the day he stood in court and heard the names of the Omagh victims called out as the worst day of his life, Hoey said there should be a public inquiry into the Omagh bomb.
He added that the Omagh families deserve answers, as does his own family.
The 38-year-old walked free from Belfast court last month after being cleared of a series of Real IRA bombings including the attack in Omagh which killed 31 people.
Mr Justice Weir was highly critical of the original RUC investigation into the murders and of major failures to protect forensic evidence.
Speaking to the Irish News after his acquittal, Sean Hoey said, "The Omagh families and my own family deserve to know the full truth and only a proper cross-border public inquiry will get to the truth".
"I want to know what the British and Irish governments are afraid of from an inquiry".
Hoey rejected speculation that he intended to sue the Omagh families over their public questioning of his acquittal saying, "I have no intention of adding to the hurt and pain that the Omagh families have already been put through over the last 10 years.
"I have been fully cleared by the courts and I would ask that people respect that. All I want to do now is get on with building my own life".
Hoey is also angry that he was forced to stand trial. He said, "If it hadn't been for the dedication of my legal team and the support of my family and friends I could easily have been spending the rest of my life behind bars for something I had absolutely nothing to do with."
Hoey added that people only have to look at the judge's verdict to see there was a concerted campaign of falsified police statements and discredited forensic evidence used to try and make him a scapegoat.
He said he has been away from his young children for four years. "I know it is nothing to what the Omagh families had to go through. I could never begin to understand the tragedy that the Omagh families have gone through. All I can say is that I had nothing to do with Omagh and that I fully endorse their calls for a public inquiry".
Responding to the interview, Michael Gallagher, of the Omagh families group, said he hoped Mr Hoey would take the stand in the event of a public inquiry.
"He says he wants to help the Omagh people and this is one significant way of doing so. He says he and his family have been failed by the criminal justice system but so have the people of Omagh. We are right back to August 15, 1998," said Mr Gallagher.
BY ROSETTA DONNELLY
SEAN Hoey, the man cleared of Omagh bombing charges, has spoken for the first time about his relief at being free and said he genuinely feared he would spend the rest of his days in prison.
Describing the day he stood in court and heard the names of the Omagh victims called out as the worst day of his life, Hoey said there should be a public inquiry into the Omagh bomb.
He added that the Omagh families deserve answers, as does his own family.
The 38-year-old walked free from Belfast court last month after being cleared of a series of Real IRA bombings including the attack in Omagh which killed 31 people.
Mr Justice Weir was highly critical of the original RUC investigation into the murders and of major failures to protect forensic evidence.
Speaking to the Irish News after his acquittal, Sean Hoey said, "The Omagh families and my own family deserve to know the full truth and only a proper cross-border public inquiry will get to the truth".
"I want to know what the British and Irish governments are afraid of from an inquiry".
Hoey rejected speculation that he intended to sue the Omagh families over their public questioning of his acquittal saying, "I have no intention of adding to the hurt and pain that the Omagh families have already been put through over the last 10 years.
"I have been fully cleared by the courts and I would ask that people respect that. All I want to do now is get on with building my own life".
Hoey is also angry that he was forced to stand trial. He said, "If it hadn't been for the dedication of my legal team and the support of my family and friends I could easily have been spending the rest of my life behind bars for something I had absolutely nothing to do with."
Hoey added that people only have to look at the judge's verdict to see there was a concerted campaign of falsified police statements and discredited forensic evidence used to try and make him a scapegoat.
He said he has been away from his young children for four years. "I know it is nothing to what the Omagh families had to go through. I could never begin to understand the tragedy that the Omagh families have gone through. All I can say is that I had nothing to do with Omagh and that I fully endorse their calls for a public inquiry".
Responding to the interview, Michael Gallagher, of the Omagh families group, said he hoped Mr Hoey would take the stand in the event of a public inquiry.
"He says he wants to help the Omagh people and this is one significant way of doing so. He says he and his family have been failed by the criminal justice system but so have the people of Omagh. We are right back to August 15, 1998," said Mr Gallagher.
Further Information
Publisher: TYRONE HERALD
Ref: TYH/060
Published Date: 07-Jan-08
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