Omagh bombing suspect acquitted

BELFAST (Reuters) - An electrician was acquitted on Thursday of murdering 29 people in Northern Ireland's deadliest single bombing, meaning no one has been convicted nearly a decade after the attack.

Relatives of victims of the 1998 Omagh bombing reacted with outrage and the judge sharply criticised the quality of forensic evidence and the police investigation.

Sean Hoey, 38, had been accused of engineering the car bomb that killed 29, including a woman pregnant with twins, just months after a peace deal to end 30 years of conflict in the province.

Thursday's verdict, after one of the biggest murder trials in UK history, enraged relatives of those killed, some of whom have been highly critical of the authorities over lack of progress in bringing those responsible to justice.

"Those of us that were in court today heard a catalogue of events that really beggared belief," said Michael Gallagher, whose son died in the bomb attack in the bustling market town. "It is an awful price we have to pay."

The attack, in which 200 people were wounded, was carried out by the Real IRA, a breakaway faction of the IRA.

It opposed a 1997 truce by the mainstream IRA in its campaign to oust Britain from Northern Ireland.

In acquitting Hoey, Justice Reg Weir attacked the forensic evidence presented in the case. He also heavily criticised the police who conducted the investigation and said he had concerns that two unnamed officers had lied.

"I am acutely aware that the stricken people of Omagh would wish to see whoever was responsible for that outrageous offence convicted and punished for their crimes," he told the court.

"But I must also bear in mind the cardinal principle of criminal law," he said after deciding that the case against Hoey had not been proven beyond reasonable doubt.

Hoey's mother Rita told reporters outside the court: "I want the world to know my son, Sean Hoey, is innocent."

Hoey had been accused of engineering the 225 kg car bomb that ripped through the County Tyrone market town in August 1998.

During the 56-day trial, prosecution and defence lawyers wrangled over whether DNA evidence was reliable enough to form the basis of a conviction.

The only person so far jailed in connection with Omagh, bar owner Colm Murphy from the Irish Republic, had his conviction quashed by a Dublin court in 2005. He faces a retrial.

(Writing by Paul Majendie, editing by David Clarke and Charles Dick)