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Fermanagh and Omagh District Council has voted to oppose Liam Campbell’s extradition to Lithuania where he is wanted on alleged criminal matters.
The motion was brought before the monthly Policy and Resources Committee meeting last night by Councillor Bernice Swift.
Liam Campbell from Dundalk, one of the men found liable for the Omagh bomb, is wanted in Lithuania over allegations he was part of an operation to buy guns and bombs for the Real IRA.
At Thursday evening’s committee meeting, DUP and Ulster Unionist councillors voted against independent councillor Bernice Swift’s motion.
Fermanagh and Omagh Council’s policy committee voted to oppose the extradition with the support of SDLP, Sinn Féin and others.
The vote came in at 23 in favour, 14 against, with one abstention and the matter will now go to a full meeting of council for ratification
Meanwhile, the SDLP have now reversed its decision to back the motion.
SDLP Fermanagh and Omagh Council Group Leader Mary Garrity said, “The decision to support this motion at a Fermanagh and Omagh District Council committee meeting was wrong. I acknowledge the pain and hurt the decision has caused this morning, particularly to the Omagh bomb families and I want to apologise unreservedly.
“When the matter comes before the full council for ratification, SDLP Councillors will oppose the motion.
“The SDLP has opposed violence and the perpetrators of violence for fifty years, it was never our intention to cause additional hurt to victims and as a council group, we regret that.”
Ulster Unionist Councillor and Fermanagh and Omagh District Council’s Chairman Chris Smyth said the motion’s passing had left him feeling “physically sick”.
He said, “This nauseating proposal referred to the human rights of Liam Campbell but paid no regard to the rights of the 29 people and 2 unborn children who were murdered on the streets of Omagh in 1998.
“I thought the rights of our citizens would have been the primary concern of the Council which covers the Omagh area.
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