Bill S-7 Suing Terror Sponsors

Case Studies

Civil Suits Turn the Tables on the Real IRA (RIRA)

On August 15, 1998, a terrorist organization called the Real IRA (RIRA) took the lives of 29 men, women and children and two unborn babies when a 500-pound bomb hidden in a stolen car detonated in Omagh, Northern Ireland. The police ascertained from intelligence sources who was responsible but they lacked admissible evidence with which to charge the culprits who continued to live comfortably in the community they had all but destroyed. But the bereaved and injured families, as well as the community in which the terrorists lived, were not content to sit back. They commenced a unique civil law suit in 2001 against five individuals and the RIRA as an organization. In June 2009, four of the five defendants named in the civil suit were held liable by Mr. Justice Morgan, and ordered to pay the plaintiffs £1.6m in compensatory damages. Jason McCue, a lawyer for the Omagh families, said: “This verdict sends a clear message to those contemplating acts of terrorism in Britain: ‘You may not end up in jail but you could still end up paying a massive debt which could cripple you for the rest of your life.’” (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/8089695.stm)

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