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Press freedom affirmed in Belfast

Journalist Suzanne Breen won the right to withhold material relating to the Real IRA from the state, in a landmark ruling on press freedom on June 18, 2009 in a Belfast court.

At Belfast Recorders Court, Judge Thomas Burgess refused an application which would have forced Breen the Northern Editor of the Dublin-based Sunday Tribune, to hand over notes, computer equipment and other material following publication of stories relating to the Real IRA.

The judge ruled Breen's life would be at risk if she handed over interview notes and other information connected to an interview she conducted with the Real IRA after it killed two British soldiers in March, 2009.

National Union of Journalists president, James Doherty, praised the courage the journalist and her editor, Noirin Hegarty, in standing up to the demands of the Police Service of Northern Ireland.

The NUJ hailed the decision as a landmark victory for journalism and for civil liberties.

Irish Secretary, Séamus Dooley, said: “No journalist should face the prospect of a prison sentence for doing their job in the public interest.

For detail see the ruling here

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