BOMBERS MUST BE BROUGHT TO JUSTICE SOON
Bombers must be brought to justice soon - Coroner
THE Coroner at the Omagh Inquests said this week he shared the hope of the families that those responsible for the Omagh bomb atrocity will be brought to justice soon.
John Leckey, was speaking at the closure of the Inquests on Tuesday when he described what the families had gone through in the past four weeks as the closure of a chapter in the book in the terrible events of August 1998. He said the book however, would never be closed until the perpetrators were brought before court and convicted.
Mr Leckey said he regretted that the Inquests were so painful but added "The investigation of the facts was unpleasant and distressing. My strong view is that it would have been wrong for me to have engaged in an the exercise, the purpose of which was to sanitise or dilute the horror perpetrated on behalf of the Real IRA. That would not have served the interests of justice and it would have been unfair to the memory of those who died so tragically".
He said the bombers had attempted to pass the blame for casualties on that day to police but he said that the "terrorists" were responsible for all
that happened and that their "self serving statement issued after the bomb had shown to be untrue".
Mr Leckey continued "If you park a car containing 200 kgs of explosives in a busy shopping street, set a timer and walk away, you do not walk away from responsibility of any resultant carnage. I share the hope, expressed so forcibly by many of the families that those responsible for the bomb are brought before a court of law and punished".
Before going through the findings of all those killed, the Coroner said that had the Inquests been in England and Wales, he could return a verdict of'unlawful killings', which he said he would have absolutely no hesitation in doing.
However, under Northern Ireland legislation he can return only a finding, ie, that those who lost their lives 'did so because of injuries sustained as a result of a bomb and that the responsibility of the car bomb was later claimed by the Real IRA'.
Mr Leckey went on to list the names of those who died, their occupation, their age and their next of kin and the cause and place of death.
He said he regretted having to list the names in the manner which he had, as he appreciated that each name and finding meant so much to each and every family present.
The announcing of the findings drew the Inquests to a close with the exception of the James Barker Inquest which is being held today. The Barker family were unable to be here earlier due to work pressures of Mr Barker in his legal practice in London.
THE Coroner at the Omagh Inquests said this week he shared the hope of the families that those responsible for the Omagh bomb atrocity will be brought to justice soon.
John Leckey, was speaking at the closure of the Inquests on Tuesday when he described what the families had gone through in the past four weeks as the closure of a chapter in the book in the terrible events of August 1998. He said the book however, would never be closed until the perpetrators were brought before court and convicted.
Mr Leckey said he regretted that the Inquests were so painful but added "The investigation of the facts was unpleasant and distressing. My strong view is that it would have been wrong for me to have engaged in an the exercise, the purpose of which was to sanitise or dilute the horror perpetrated on behalf of the Real IRA. That would not have served the interests of justice and it would have been unfair to the memory of those who died so tragically".
He said the bombers had attempted to pass the blame for casualties on that day to police but he said that the "terrorists" were responsible for all
that happened and that their "self serving statement issued after the bomb had shown to be untrue".
Mr Leckey continued "If you park a car containing 200 kgs of explosives in a busy shopping street, set a timer and walk away, you do not walk away from responsibility of any resultant carnage. I share the hope, expressed so forcibly by many of the families that those responsible for the bomb are brought before a court of law and punished".
Before going through the findings of all those killed, the Coroner said that had the Inquests been in England and Wales, he could return a verdict of'unlawful killings', which he said he would have absolutely no hesitation in doing.
However, under Northern Ireland legislation he can return only a finding, ie, that those who lost their lives 'did so because of injuries sustained as a result of a bomb and that the responsibility of the car bomb was later claimed by the Real IRA'.
Mr Leckey went on to list the names of those who died, their occupation, their age and their next of kin and the cause and place of death.
He said he regretted having to list the names in the manner which he had, as he appreciated that each name and finding meant so much to each and every family present.
The announcing of the findings drew the Inquests to a close with the exception of the James Barker Inquest which is being held today. The Barker family were unable to be here earlier due to work pressures of Mr Barker in his legal practice in London.
Further Information
Publisher: ULSTER HERALD
Ref: UH/1491
Published Date: 05-Oct-00
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