Northern Irish journalist reunited with family

The Irish journalist who was wrongfully arrested and detained by the Israeli authorities for four days was reunited with his family in Belfast today.

40-year-old Seán O Muireagáin, who writes for the Irish language daily Lá, was arrested at a roadblock in the West Bank on Saturday, apparently following a tip-off from British intelligence.

He was released yesterday.

The west Belfast man, an Irish language expert and journalist, was arrested near Ramallah last Saturday on suspicion of passing on bomb-making techniques to Palestinian forces.

But it later emerged that the authorities had mixed him up with a man named John Morgan who is known to the British and Irish security services.

He was eventually deported and flew back to London last night where he was met by his father Dessie.

But it was only today that he finally made it back to Belfast where other family members had been keeping a vigil for him.

His sister Carole said: “It is absolutely fantastic and I am ecstatic to have him home.

“It’s been horrific and there are no words to describe what we’ve been through.

“This should not have happened at all.”