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Belfast arrest of journalists condemned printable version

04 Sep 2018: posted by the editor - Journalism, Northern Ireland

Press freedom watchdog Reporters Without Borders has condemned the arrests of journalists Trevor Birney and Barry McCaffrey in Northern Ireland after the two men were detained on allegations of theft of confidential documents from the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland, related to the police investigation into the murder of six men in County Down in 1994, widely referred to as the ‘Loughinisland massacre’.

Both experienced, award-winning reporters and film producers, Birney and McCaffrey were arrested on 31 August at their homes by armed police officers at approximately 7:00 am and detained and questioned for 14 hours at Musgrave Police Station in Belfast before being released on bail that evening. Their homes and a business premises were also searched and documents and computer equipment confiscated.

RSF UK Bureau Director Rebecca Vincent said: “We are concerned by the arrests of Trevor Birney and Barry McCaffrey in connection with confidential source materials used in their journalistic work. Investigative reporting in the public interest must be protected. The charges against the two journalists should be dropped and the seized materials immediately returned.”

The Irish Times reported the NUJ ’s acting general secretary Seamus Dooley as saying it was “profoundly depressing to note that, yet again, priority appears to be given to tracking down the source of journalistic stories rather than solving murders”.

“These journalists are entitled to claim journalistic privilege and to seek the protection of the legal system if there is any attempt to force them to reveal sources.”

Birney and McCaffrey produced a documentary about the Loughinisland massacre and the alleged police cover-up that followed, titled ‘No Stone Unturned’, which was released in November 2017. Fine Point Films, the company that produced the documentary, has filed emergency proceedings with Belfast High Court, challenging the legality of the warrant police used to search the properties. The seized materials will not be examined by police until the court gives further orders.

The UK is ranked 40th out of 180 countries in RSF’s 2018 World Press Freedom Index.

Tags: press freedom, Loughinisland

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