17/01/2013

Omagh Bomb Man Avoids Extradition

A man held liable for the Omagh bombing will not be extradited to Lithuania to face charges of weapons smuggling.

A Belfast judge said Liam Campbell is likely to be held in inhuman and degrading conditions if extradited.

The 49-year-old from Dundalk is wanted in Lithuania to face allegations he had taken part in an operation to buy guns and explosives for the Real IRA.

His lawyers said it would breach his human rights.

The move follows an assessment of prisons in Lithuania by a special adviser to the British Home Office and the Council of Europe's Committee for the Prevention of Torture.

The decision is expected to be appealed by Lithuanian authorities.

Campbell’s brother Michael was sentenced to 12 years in jail by a court in Lithuania in December 2011.

He was also charged with trying to buy weapons for the Real IRA.

Michael Campbell was filmed buying explosives and guns from Lithuanian intelligence agents who were posing as arms dealers.

Liam Campbell remains in custody pending a bail application.

He was arrested when he crossed the border into south Armagh in May 2009.

A month later he was found liable for the Omagh bombing along with Real IRA leader Michael McKevitt.

The Omagh bomb killed 29 people, including a woman pregnant with twins, when it went off in the County Tyrone market town in August 1998.

(IT)

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