IRA group found guilty
June 8, 2009
A Belfast court ruled on Monday that four men and an outlawed guerilla group were responsible for one of the worst bombings in UK history and has awarded the victims' families 1.6 million pounds (1.8 million euros) in compensation.
The bombing, which took place in the Northern Irish town of Omagh in 1998, claimed the lives of 29 people and wounded 200 others. The court ruled that the Real IRA, an offshoot of the Irish Republican Army, was responsible for the attack, which many consider to have been the bloodiest day in more than 30 years of sectarian violence in the British province.
The 12 named relatives had originally filed the civil suit for up to 14 million pounds in April 2008 against five men, but one of them was cleared. Among those found liable is Michael McKevitt, the alleged leader of the Real IRA, who is serving a 20-year jail sentence for directing terrorism. Another, Colm Murphy, was found guilty in 2002 of conspiracy in the Omagh bombing, but the conviction was later overturned.
While no one has been convicted in a criminal court for the bombing, and no one will be jailed as a result of the civil verdict, this case could set a precedent opening up the opportunity to sue other alleged members of paramilitary groups.
mrm/dpa/Reuters/AP
Editor: Chuck Penfold