Judges reject Omagh families' documents bid

An application by Omagh bomb victims’ families for access to State documents as part of their compensation claim against the alleged terrorists was rejected today at Dublin’s Special Criminal Court.

The three-judge panel said in a written judgment that it did not have jurisdiction to agree to release trial transcripts, books of evidence and statements related to the 1998 atrocity.

A total of 29 people were killed when a car bomb was detonated in Omagh town centre in August 1998.

The civil action is seeking aggravated damages and individual claims from five suspected Real IRA members alleged to have carried out the bombing.

In their ruling today, the Special Criminal Court judges said: “Having considered the arguments advanced and the law as we see it applying to this request and being conscious of the anxiety of the applicants in relation to this issue, the court is unable to make the direction requested by reason of lack of jurisdiction and therefore refuses to accede to the application.”