Lawyer demands dropping of Omagh charges
The 29 murder charges against the man accused of the Omagh bombing should be dropped, a lawyer demanded today.
Sean Hoey, 35, an electrician from south Armagh, is due to go on trial later this year for the North's worst terrorist atrocity.
But at Belfast Magistrates’ Court his solicitor claimed the prosecution’s case that Hoey may have built the bomb used in the August 1998 no-warning strike could not go before a jury.
Peter Corrigan said: “The evidence against the defendant in relation to the Omagh bombing and the murder of 29 people should be expelled on the basis of general admissibility rules. A judge would exclude that evidence due to the speculative nature of it.”
The accused, of Molly Road, Jonesborough, faces a total of 61 terrorist and explosives-related charges, including involvement in the Real IRA attack on Omagh.
As well as the 29 killings, hundreds more were injured when a 500lb car bomb devastated the Co Tyrone market town.
Hoey was accused of the murders after a major review of all available forensic evidence.
A dozen boxes of files were gathered on the suspect, who has also been charged with Real IRA membership.
In court today the prosecution refused Mr Corrigan’s request for an outline of the case against his client, denying the charges were based on similar fact evidence.
He responded by accusing the prosecution of changing its case in a matter of days.
“He (Hoey) has been interviewed 19-20 times from 1998-2003,” Mr Corrigan said. “It was put to him by the Crown there was similar fact evidence. Because the devices were constructed in a similar way that he must have been the person to have constructed them.
“The prosecution is taking to its highest level that the defendant may have constructed the device in Omagh. That’s forensic evidence, it has no probative value.”
On this basis committal proceedings against Hoey, due to begin on August 30, should not go ahead.
Magistrate Greg McCourt adjourned the case for a week to allow further legal arguments. In the meantime Hoey was remanded in custody.
