Lawyers bid to dismiss case against Omagh accused

Lawyers for a man accused of murdering 29 people in the Omagh bomb massacre today launched a new bid to have the case against him halted.

Electrician Sean Hoey, 35, is due to go on trial for Northern Ireland's worst terrorist atrocity later this year.

But at Belfast Magistrates Court today his legal representatives claimed he had been framed, warning there was little chance of a successful prosecution.

Defence solicitor Peter Corrigan alleged there was less evidence connecting his client to the outrage than against a man who had charges of supplying the bomb car dropped.

He said: "In the light of that I would ask the prosecution to review this case, see if there is a real prospect of conviction and immediately withdraw the charges.

"Mr Hoey is obviously a political scapegoat."

The accused, of Molly Road, Jonesborough, South Armagh, faces a total of 61 terrorist and explosives-related charges.

Among these are the 29 killings in the dissident Real IRA's no-warning strike on Omagh.

Hundreds more people were injured when a 500lb car bomb detonated in August 1998, devastating the Co Tyrone market town.

Hoey was accused of the Omagh killings after a major review of all available forensic evidence.

A dozen boxes of files have been gathered on the suspect, who has also been charged with Real IRA membership.

But Mr Corrigan expressed serious concerns at how the case has been handled, declaring: "We would submit that these proceedings have been infected."

The lawyer referred to the dropped action against Anthony Donegan.

The 34-year-old from Dundalk in Co Louth was freed in June on the orders of the Public Prosecution Service after a study of the police file.

The first stage in Hoey's trial is due to begin on August 30.

But, after the defence requested details of the Crown's skeleton argument for accepting the strength of evidence from the forensic scientist, today's hearing was adjourned until Friday.

A prosecuting solicitor told the court that a PPS assistant director had been involved in preparing the file.

She added: "It's his view that there's a realistic prospect of conviction."