MCKEVITT ACCUSED OF DIRECTING TERRORISM
McKevitt accused of directing terrorism
THE landmark trial of the first man to be charged with directing terrorism in the wake of the Omagh bomb began yesterday in Dublin and is expected to last up to six weeks.
Michael McKevitt is the first person to appear at Dublin's Special Criminal Court charged with directing terrorism.
The first day of the trial was dominated by legal arguments. Whilst in the dock McKevitt was seen waving a clenched fist at family members who were in the public gallery.
Yesterday's prosecution was possible due to a range of measures introduced by the Irish Government in the wake of the Omagh bombing in 1998.
The 53-year-old County Louth businessman faces a possible life sentence if he is eventually found guilty.
He also faces the charge of membership of an illegal organisation and is denying all the charges.
He is accused of directing the Real IRA between 1999 and 2001 and being a member of the group.
McKevitt is believed to have split from the mainstream republican movement in 1997 after becoming disillusioned with the political direction it was following. At around the same time the Real IRA was set up and began a major bombing campaign across the North which culminated in the August 1998 attack on Omagh.
No one was ever been charged with the murders, although one man has been jailed for his part in plotting the outrage. The main witness against McKevitt will be an America spy. David Rupert is a former MI5 and FBI agent.
Mr Rupert is expected to testify that McKevitt urged him to purchase guns for the dissident group which is opposed to the Northern Ireland peace process. But defence teams are expected to allege that the state's star witness is unreliable
The alleged Real IRA chief was arrested in March 2001 under anti-terrorism legislation which was brought in by the Dublin Government after the attack on Omagh.
McKevitt is one of five people the relatives of the victims of the Omagh bombing are taking a separate civil action against in Northern Ireland.
The Real IRA attack on 15 August 1998 killed 29 people, including a woman who was seven months pregnant with twins.
THE landmark trial of the first man to be charged with directing terrorism in the wake of the Omagh bomb began yesterday in Dublin and is expected to last up to six weeks.
Michael McKevitt is the first person to appear at Dublin's Special Criminal Court charged with directing terrorism.
The first day of the trial was dominated by legal arguments. Whilst in the dock McKevitt was seen waving a clenched fist at family members who were in the public gallery.
Yesterday's prosecution was possible due to a range of measures introduced by the Irish Government in the wake of the Omagh bombing in 1998.
The 53-year-old County Louth businessman faces a possible life sentence if he is eventually found guilty.
He also faces the charge of membership of an illegal organisation and is denying all the charges.
He is accused of directing the Real IRA between 1999 and 2001 and being a member of the group.
McKevitt is believed to have split from the mainstream republican movement in 1997 after becoming disillusioned with the political direction it was following. At around the same time the Real IRA was set up and began a major bombing campaign across the North which culminated in the August 1998 attack on Omagh.
No one was ever been charged with the murders, although one man has been jailed for his part in plotting the outrage. The main witness against McKevitt will be an America spy. David Rupert is a former MI5 and FBI agent.
Mr Rupert is expected to testify that McKevitt urged him to purchase guns for the dissident group which is opposed to the Northern Ireland peace process. But defence teams are expected to allege that the state's star witness is unreliable
The alleged Real IRA chief was arrested in March 2001 under anti-terrorism legislation which was brought in by the Dublin Government after the attack on Omagh.
McKevitt is one of five people the relatives of the victims of the Omagh bombing are taking a separate civil action against in Northern Ireland.
The Real IRA attack on 15 August 1998 killed 29 people, including a woman who was seven months pregnant with twins.
Further Information
Publisher: ULSTER HERALD
Ref: UH/1549
Published Date: 19-Jun-03
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