JUSTICE AT LAST
JUSTICE AT LAST
BY NIGEL MCDONAGH
n.mcdonagh@ulsterherald.com
FAMILIES of the Omagh bomb victims have renewed their call for a full cross-border inquiry into the atrocity after winning a decade-long battle for justice this week.
They have also vowed to fight on to collect the �1.6m in compensation accorded to them by Mr Justice Morgan at Belfast High Court on Monday.
Twelve relatives were awarded the damages after Mr Morgan ruled that four members of the Real IRA were responsible for planting the bomb which killed 29 people and two unborn children in August 1998.
The men named were Real IRA leader Michael McKevitt, Liam Campbell, Colm Murphy and Seamus Daly. The Real IRA as an organisation was also found liable for the attack.
McKevitt, who is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence for directing terrorism, plans to challenge the verdict, with his solicitor Kevin Winters citing concerns over the reliability of evidence.
However, Monday's judgement has been hailed as a 'landmark ruling' and may open the way for those bereaved in terrorist attacks throughout the world to sue the perpetrators for damages.
Michael Gallagher, whose son Aiden died in the Omagh bombing, declared, "We have sent out an important message to terrorists and their victims around the world. You now have a way of challenging those who've murdered your loved ones. I think it is a tremendous moral victory for the families. It is a result better than we could have imagined."
Reiterating the call for a cross-border inquiry, Mr Gallagher added, "The curtain can never be pulled in Omagh until both governments co-operate and tell the families the truth."
Although it has been speculated that the families will face difficulties collecting the �1.6m damages, Stanley McCombe, whose wife Anne died in the blast, stressed that the case was never about the money.
"This is a result we hoped for but didn't expect," Mr McCombe said. "We didn't build our hopes up because we've been let down so many times before.
"It was never about money. We can stand and say that these guys are responsible for Omagh - that's what we wanted."
Mr McCombe added that the campaigning would continue and the relatives would not rest until they got the public inquiry they have sought for so long.
The families' legal representative, human rights lawyer Jason McCue, was hopeful that the families will collect the damages.
"There may be elements that make the pursuit of damages more difficult, but it is not an impossible case," he said.
The relatives launched the civil action after the failure of the police to secure a criminal conviction over the bombing.
They sued five men and the Real IRA as an organisation for up to �14m in a case which made legal history when it sat to hear evidence in both Belfast and Dublin.
The case opened in April last year and completed hearing evidence in March.
The judge said it was clear that Michael McKevitt was a senior figure in the Real IRA at the time of the Omagh bombing and was heavily involved in the procurement of explosives.
He based much of this on evidence obtained by undercover FBI agent David Rupert, who infiltrated the organisation in the years after the attack.
"He held and has always held a significant leadership role in the Real IRA," the judge said of McKevitt.
Mr Morgan also based his findings in regard to Colm Murphy on information obtained by the American agent.
The judge said he was satisfied that Liam Campbell was a member of the Army Council of the Real IRA at the time of the bombing.
A mainstay of the families' case was records and traces on two phones used by the bombers on the day of the attack.
The judge said evidence proved that both Campbell and Seamus Daly were in possession of the phones before and after the attack.
A fifth man accused by the relatives, Seamus McKenna, was cleared on Monday.
The judge said the case against McKenna was dismissed, as it had been based on evidence from his estranged wife and he considered her an unreliable witness.
The marathon legal battle cost an estimated �2m, with the relatives having been backed in their fundraising efforts by, amongst others, former US president Bill Clinton.
BY NIGEL MCDONAGH
n.mcdonagh@ulsterherald.com
FAMILIES of the Omagh bomb victims have renewed their call for a full cross-border inquiry into the atrocity after winning a decade-long battle for justice this week.
They have also vowed to fight on to collect the �1.6m in compensation accorded to them by Mr Justice Morgan at Belfast High Court on Monday.
Twelve relatives were awarded the damages after Mr Morgan ruled that four members of the Real IRA were responsible for planting the bomb which killed 29 people and two unborn children in August 1998.
The men named were Real IRA leader Michael McKevitt, Liam Campbell, Colm Murphy and Seamus Daly. The Real IRA as an organisation was also found liable for the attack.
McKevitt, who is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence for directing terrorism, plans to challenge the verdict, with his solicitor Kevin Winters citing concerns over the reliability of evidence.
However, Monday's judgement has been hailed as a 'landmark ruling' and may open the way for those bereaved in terrorist attacks throughout the world to sue the perpetrators for damages.
Michael Gallagher, whose son Aiden died in the Omagh bombing, declared, "We have sent out an important message to terrorists and their victims around the world. You now have a way of challenging those who've murdered your loved ones. I think it is a tremendous moral victory for the families. It is a result better than we could have imagined."
Reiterating the call for a cross-border inquiry, Mr Gallagher added, "The curtain can never be pulled in Omagh until both governments co-operate and tell the families the truth."
Although it has been speculated that the families will face difficulties collecting the �1.6m damages, Stanley McCombe, whose wife Anne died in the blast, stressed that the case was never about the money.
"This is a result we hoped for but didn't expect," Mr McCombe said. "We didn't build our hopes up because we've been let down so many times before.
"It was never about money. We can stand and say that these guys are responsible for Omagh - that's what we wanted."
Mr McCombe added that the campaigning would continue and the relatives would not rest until they got the public inquiry they have sought for so long.
The families' legal representative, human rights lawyer Jason McCue, was hopeful that the families will collect the damages.
"There may be elements that make the pursuit of damages more difficult, but it is not an impossible case," he said.
The relatives launched the civil action after the failure of the police to secure a criminal conviction over the bombing.
They sued five men and the Real IRA as an organisation for up to �14m in a case which made legal history when it sat to hear evidence in both Belfast and Dublin.
The case opened in April last year and completed hearing evidence in March.
The judge said it was clear that Michael McKevitt was a senior figure in the Real IRA at the time of the Omagh bombing and was heavily involved in the procurement of explosives.
He based much of this on evidence obtained by undercover FBI agent David Rupert, who infiltrated the organisation in the years after the attack.
"He held and has always held a significant leadership role in the Real IRA," the judge said of McKevitt.
Mr Morgan also based his findings in regard to Colm Murphy on information obtained by the American agent.
The judge said he was satisfied that Liam Campbell was a member of the Army Council of the Real IRA at the time of the bombing.
A mainstay of the families' case was records and traces on two phones used by the bombers on the day of the attack.
The judge said evidence proved that both Campbell and Seamus Daly were in possession of the phones before and after the attack.
A fifth man accused by the relatives, Seamus McKenna, was cleared on Monday.
The judge said the case against McKenna was dismissed, as it had been based on evidence from his estranged wife and he considered her an unreliable witness.
The marathon legal battle cost an estimated �2m, with the relatives having been backed in their fundraising efforts by, amongst others, former US president Bill Clinton.
Further Information
Publisher: ULSTER HERALD
Ref: UH/1977
Published Date: 11-Jun-09
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