An electrician accused of murdering 29 people in the Omagh bombing was refused bail today over fears he may flee the North.
A judge told Belfast Crown Court he could not release Sean Hoey (36) because he had tried to escape arrest by hiding in bushes.
With the south Armagh man facing 58 charges involving 14 separate terrorist attacks, Mr Justice Weir insisted the allegations against him were too serious to back the case put forward by his defence.
Even though Mr Hoey has been on remand for nearly 900 days, he now faces another seven months behind bars before standing trial in September for the Omagh outrage.
Mr Hoey, of Molly Road, Jonesborough, near the Border, denies involvement in the August 1998 bomb attack on the Co Tyrone market town. He has also been charged with a series of other dissident republican attacks across the North during the same period.
Although his defence argued that Mr Hoey has been on remand eight times longer than any suspect in England can be held, Mr Justice Weir accepted prosecution fears that he may not turn up for trial.
The judge's concerns were heightened by Mr Hoey's bid to escape when he was seized at his home in September 2003.
PA