Four in court on IRA charges
The St Patrick’s weekend operation into alleged activities of dissident republicans in Co Donegal saw four BBC journalists being held in custody.
The BBC said those arrested, who were held for 19 hours, worked for current affairs and were on an investigation with full editorial authority under BBC guidelines when gardaí took them in.
All the arrests on Sunday were in Co Donegal and were made under Offences Against the State legislation which allows suspects to be held by gardaí for up to 72 hours after which they must be charged or released. The journalists were released without charge.
Last night, four men with addresses in Derry city appeared before a special sitting of the court.
They were named as Gary Donnelly, aged 38, of Kildrum Gardens; Michael Gallagher, aged 28, of Sackville Court; Martin Francis O’Neill, of Colmcille Court, and Patrick John McDaid, aged 39, of Marlborough St.
The men were charged with membership of an unlawful organisation styling itself the Irish Republican Army (IRA), otherwise Óglaigh na hÉireann, on Sunday last, March 16.
Gardaí told the court that the men were formally arrested yesterday and that, when cautioned, Gallagher and McDaid denied IRA membership while Donnelly and O’Neill made no reply.
Ms Justice Elizabeth Dunne, presiding at the three-judge, non-jury court, remanded all four men in custody until next Tuesday, when bail applications are expected to be heard.
When charged, McDaid said: “I spent over three days in custody and said quite clearly I was not a member of an unlawful organisation. This is a clear case of internment through remand,” he added.
Ms Justice Dunne replied: “I have to disagree with you Mr McDaid... You will in due course be afforded a trial in relation to the matter.”
Meanwhile, a senior member of the DUP in Derry has questioned what the journalists were doing in Co Donegal. Gregory Campbell asked the BBC to explain their guidelines.
He said: “I would like to hear the BBC expand on that and say what it was exactly they [the journalists] were doing.
“They need to: A, explain what their guidelines are and B, explain the activities of the camera crew when gardaí took steps against them.” He added: “It’s all very well for them to say they have guidelines but the public need to know what these are.”
