Northern Ireland: New developments highlight continued need for justice for Martin O’Hagan
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) calls for an independent investigation to be opened into the murder of journalist Martin O’Hagan, following new evidence that the police failed to act on crucial information prior to his murder and calls for steps to improve the climate for safety of journalists in Northern Ireland.
Following claims made in the BBC Northern Ireland's Spotlight programme, the family of journalist Martin O’Hagan have confirmed they are taking legal action against the Ministry of Defence and the Police Service Northern Ireland (PSNI), alleging authorities had information that could have prevented the murder but did not act on it. O’Hagan, who was a reporter for the Sunday World, was gunned down in 2001 near Belfast.
“Twenty years on from the killing of Martin O’Hagan and there still has been no justice for Martin or his family. We are shocked by reports that Army intelligence may have had information that could have prevented his murder and we call upon the PSNI to open a new and independant investigation. Delayed justice has contributed to a worrying overall climate for media in Northern Ireland, where concrete measures are urgently needed to ensure the safety of journalists,” said RSF’s UK Campaigns Officer Azzurra Moores.
The claims were made by a former soldier who alledges that three days prior to the murder he informed Army intelligence of the plot to kill O’Hagan. When interviewed by the BBC he claimed: “I reported who was going to carry out the hit; I also reported where the weapon was coming from; I also reported where the weapon was being hidden in that week and they assured me that they were going to stop it." PSNI told the family they believed the soldier was lying and did not act on the information.
RSF continues to raise concerns about the worrying press freedom climate in Northern Ireland. Journalist Lyra McKee was killed observing rioting in the Creggan area of Derry in 2019. In a dispatch following a mission to Belfast and Derry in March 2020, RSF issued a series of recommendations to the UK government to improve the climate for safety of journalists in Northern Ireland, and continues to advocate for their implementation.
The UK is ranked 33rd out of 180 countries in RSF’s 2021 World Press Freedom Index.
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