February 17, 2011
By Staff Reporter
Sean Gerard Hoey appeared at Craigavon Magistrates’ Court, also charged with 23 explosives offenses and seven of conspiracy to murder members of the security forces.
Hoey, from Molly Road in Jonesborough, was remanded in custody to Maghaberry Prison to appear before Belfast magistrates by video-link on May 31 so a date for his arraignment can be fixed.
Hoey was not asked to enter a plea at the hearing and said nothing during his ten minute appearance during which he sat in the dock, clad in a brown jumper and blue jeans, hands clasped in front of him.
His solicitor, Peter Corrigan, told the court that the prosecution team had not provided any new evidence to allow the case to continue and also said delays in the case were an abuse of process.
The only evidence against his client was that a forensic scientist had said he had “possibly” been involved in making the Omagh bomb – not that he was “certain” to have done so, or that this was either “highly likely”, “likely” or even “more likely than not.”
Corrigan asked the court to order the prosecution team to serve the defense with information and details of an international review commission into the Omagh bomb. He said not a shred of new information was forthcoming from this team, despite media leaks last week that could only have been politically motivated.
The magistrate, Alan White, refused the application stating it was outside his legal jurisdiction and ordered Hoey to appear at the Laganside courts in Belfast later this week.
“It is obviously in the interests of justice and the interests of everybody that the matter is determined at the earliest stage,” said White, but he ruled Belfast Magistrates Court was in a better position to rule on the two issues raised.
Several relatives of the 29 people killed in the bomb blast in August 1998 sat in court as the charges were read out. Afterwards, Michael Gallagher, father of Aidan Gallagher, one of those killed, said it had been a “sobering” experience.
He said he had sat in court dreading to hear his son’s name but that he thought it was better to be there than to be absent. He also criticized the Gardai for allegedly not being as determined as the northern police in attempting to find the bombers.