THE PSNI is threatening Sunday Tribune journalist Suzanne Breen – who reported the Real IRA’s claim of responsibility for the Massereene murders and shooting of Denis Donaldson – with legal action if she doesn’t reveal her paramilitary sources. For mainstream republicans, it must be disconcerting that political policing still goes on and the PSNI take such anti-democratic measures to trawl for information. For democrats who believe in a right to free expression, it is worrying that Press freedom is once again being eroded. Breen is not prepared to co-operate with the authorities; it is not her job to gather evidence for the police and to hand information over would harm the chances of sources, from whatever quarter, talking to the Press in the future. The arguments, made by the First Minister among others, are not dissimilar for Ian Paisley Jr refusing to hand over the name of a Prison Service whistleblower to the Billy Wright Inquiry.
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