One of the men found liable for the Omagh bomb atrocity may challenge a judge’s ruling that he should face extradition to Lithuania - where he is wanted on arms charges - from Northern Ireland and not the Republic, a court was told today.
Extradition proceedings were already under way in Dublin when Liam Campbell (46) crossed the Border into the North where he was arrested by police last month.
Belfast Recorder Tom Burgess ruled on Tuesday that Campbell should face fresh extradition proceedings in Northern Ireland rather than be returned to the Republic where they were already well advanced.
Lithuania says they would prefer him to be dealt with in Northern Ireland.
Campbell, from Dundalk, Co Louth, was on bail while the case continued in Dublin but was arrested while driving his wife to work in south Armagh.
The Police Service of Northern Ireland detained him under a European arrest warrant issued at the same time as that which sparked the extradition proceedings in Dublin.
Barrister Sean Devine told the judge at what had been expected to be a bail application today that Campbell’s legal team were taking time to look at the scope for challenging his ruling.
While not making the bail application Mr Devine asked the judge what conditions he might set should an application be successful - he said an address in Northern Ireland had been secured and someone was prepared to provide a £10,000 surety.
Judge Burgess said he would not be “seduced” into dropping hints and Mr Devine should decide whether to make a bail application or not.
August 24th was set for a hearing to set a timetable for the extradition hearing - should it not already have been challenged.
Campbell was one of four men held responsible last month for the Omagh bombing in which 29 people, including a mother pregnant with twins, died.
A landmark judgment in a civil action brought by relatives of some of those killed in the 1998 explosion found “cogent evidence” Campbell was a member of the Real IRA army council at the time of the bombing.
A High Court judge in Belfast awarded relatives £1.6 million damaged against Campbell and the three other alleged bombers.
Campbell is being sough by Lithuania over an alleged plot to acquire and ship guns, ammunition, explosives, detonators and timers from the eastern Europe state to Ireland.
PA