This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/02/world/europe/seamus-daly-omagh-bombing.html
The article has changed 6 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Britain Drops Case Against Last Suspect in 1998 Omagh Bombing | Britain Drops Case Against Last Suspect in 1998 Omagh Bombing |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| DUBLIN — The case against the only remaining suspect in the killing of 29 people in a bombing in Omagh in 1998, the deadliest attack during three decades of bloody conflict in Northern Ireland, collapsed on Tuesday after the state prosecutor unexpectedly dropped the charges. | DUBLIN — The case against the only remaining suspect in the killing of 29 people in a bombing in Omagh in 1998, the deadliest attack during three decades of bloody conflict in Northern Ireland, collapsed on Tuesday after the state prosecutor unexpectedly dropped the charges. |
| Seamus Daly, 45, who was detained pending trial after he was charged with the killings in April 2014, is expected to be released from the high-security Maghaberry Prison near Belfast later on Tuesday. | Seamus Daly, 45, who was detained pending trial after he was charged with the killings in April 2014, is expected to be released from the high-security Maghaberry Prison near Belfast later on Tuesday. |
| The director of public prosecutions, Barra McGrory, said the state had withdrawn the charges because of concerns about the reliability of the evidence provided by the main witness. | The director of public prosecutions, Barra McGrory, said the state had withdrawn the charges because of concerns about the reliability of the evidence provided by the main witness. |
| The prosecution had built its case around evidence connected to a mobile phone. The witness, who has not been identified in accordance with British law, had told the authorities he could prove that Mr. Daly had in his possession at the time of the attack one of the handsets that was used to detonate a bomb. | The prosecution had built its case around evidence connected to a mobile phone. The witness, who has not been identified in accordance with British law, had told the authorities he could prove that Mr. Daly had in his possession at the time of the attack one of the handsets that was used to detonate a bomb. |
| “This has focused in particular on the testimony provided by a key witness during committal proceedings last week,” the Public Prosecution Service said in a statement. “Under cross-examination, a number of issues became apparent which impacted upon the reliability of the evidence that the witness was providing.” | “This has focused in particular on the testimony provided by a key witness during committal proceedings last week,” the Public Prosecution Service said in a statement. “Under cross-examination, a number of issues became apparent which impacted upon the reliability of the evidence that the witness was providing.” |
| Cat Wilkinson, whose brother Aiden died in the attack, said the families of the victims had not been notified in advance of the decision to drop the charges. | Cat Wilkinson, whose brother Aiden died in the attack, said the families of the victims had not been notified in advance of the decision to drop the charges. |
| “It is quite shocking that we have had to learn this from the media — we had no idea this was coming,” she said. “Our hopes for justice have been dashed once more.” | “It is quite shocking that we have had to learn this from the media — we had no idea this was coming,” she said. “Our hopes for justice have been dashed once more.” |
| The bombing, which was claimed by a dissident republican group that calls itself the Real Irish Republican Army, took place only four months after the signing of the Belfast Agreement, which ended the three-decade conflict known as the Troubles. | |
| Among the dead were nine children and a woman pregnant with twins, according to the Omagh Support and Self Help Group, an organization set up to help those affected by the bombing. | Among the dead were nine children and a woman pregnant with twins, according to the Omagh Support and Self Help Group, an organization set up to help those affected by the bombing. |
| Mr. Daly was among four men found liable for the attack in a civil action taken by some of the victims’ families, but the four have appealed the $2.6 million judgment against them, and no one has ever been convicted of criminal charges in connection with the attack. | |
| The prosecution’s statement expressed sympathy for the affected families but said it had little choice. | The prosecution’s statement expressed sympathy for the affected families but said it had little choice. |
| “We understand how difficult this decision will be for them,” it said. “We hope they are assured that this decision was not taken lightly but is required in accordance with our duty as prosecutors to keep a decision under review and to discontinue criminal proceedings when the test for prosecution is no longer met.” | “We understand how difficult this decision will be for them,” it said. “We hope they are assured that this decision was not taken lightly but is required in accordance with our duty as prosecutors to keep a decision under review and to discontinue criminal proceedings when the test for prosecution is no longer met.” |
| The state also dropped charges of conspiring to cause an explosion and having explosives with intent in connection with a separate bomb plot in Lisburn, about eight miles southwest of Belfast, in April 1998. | The state also dropped charges of conspiring to cause an explosion and having explosives with intent in connection with a separate bomb plot in Lisburn, about eight miles southwest of Belfast, in April 1998. |