This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/aug/20/uda-journalist-death-threat-belfast
The article has changed 9 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 3 | Version 4 |
|---|---|
| Amnesty calls on Ulster Defence Association to lift death threat against Belfast journalist | Amnesty calls on Ulster Defence Association to lift death threat against Belfast journalist |
| (30 days later) | |
| Amnesty International has called on the Ulster Defence Association to lift a death threat against a Belfast journalist. A terror unit of the UDA in east Belfast is understood to be behind the threat. | Amnesty International has called on the Ulster Defence Association to lift a death threat against a Belfast journalist. A terror unit of the UDA in east Belfast is understood to be behind the threat. |
| The reporter's name and mobile telephone number were painted on walls in a number of locations across the city over the weekend. The Guardian is aware of the journalist's identity but is complying with the National Union of Journalists' decision not to name the individual. | The reporter's name and mobile telephone number were painted on walls in a number of locations across the city over the weekend. The Guardian is aware of the journalist's identity but is complying with the National Union of Journalists' decision not to name the individual. |
| Loyalist sources told the Guardian a specific UDA grouping in the east of the city who were recently accused of criminality and drug dealing were responsible for the threat. | Loyalist sources told the Guardian a specific UDA grouping in the east of the city who were recently accused of criminality and drug dealing were responsible for the threat. |
| Amnesty International's director in Northern Ireland, Patrick Corrigan, said: "Such threats are not merely an attack on one journalist, they are an attack on the freedom of the press in Northern Ireland. Guaranteeing freedom of expression must be a cornerstone of Northern Ireland as a peaceful and just society." | Amnesty International's director in Northern Ireland, Patrick Corrigan, said: "Such threats are not merely an attack on one journalist, they are an attack on the freedom of the press in Northern Ireland. Guaranteeing freedom of expression must be a cornerstone of Northern Ireland as a peaceful and just society." |
| The Ulster Unionist leader and former television journalist Mike Nesbitt called on the UDA to state whether the threat was officially sanctioned and to immediately lift it. | The Ulster Unionist leader and former television journalist Mike Nesbitt called on the UDA to state whether the threat was officially sanctioned and to immediately lift it. |
| Nesbitt said: "A free press is the cornerstone of any democracy, and any threat to a journalist is totally unacceptable and must be condemned unequivocally. No one is above public scrutiny, and when anyone believes that media reporting becomes inaccurate, misleading or distorted, there are mechanisms in place to seek redress. Threatening murder offers no vision for the future." | Nesbitt said: "A free press is the cornerstone of any democracy, and any threat to a journalist is totally unacceptable and must be condemned unequivocally. No one is above public scrutiny, and when anyone believes that media reporting becomes inaccurate, misleading or distorted, there are mechanisms in place to seek redress. Threatening murder offers no vision for the future." |
| Seamus Dooley, Irish secretary of the NUJ, said the threat, made by telephone on Saturday, was not the first issued to the journalist. He said the journalist had been writing about the UDA and he believed this was the reason the person was targeted. | Seamus Dooley, Irish secretary of the NUJ, said the threat, made by telephone on Saturday, was not the first issued to the journalist. He said the journalist had been writing about the UDA and he believed this was the reason the person was targeted. |
| Despite at one time being the largest paramilitary movement in Northern Ireland, the UDA has been riven with splits and infighting. Its de facto leader, Jackie McDonald, has been a driving force in maintaining the organisation's ceasefire and moving it away from paramilitarism. However, other units of the UDA have refused to recognise his authority and operate independently, often engaging in organised crime ranging from drug-dealing to extortion. | Despite at one time being the largest paramilitary movement in Northern Ireland, the UDA has been riven with splits and infighting. Its de facto leader, Jackie McDonald, has been a driving force in maintaining the organisation's ceasefire and moving it away from paramilitarism. However, other units of the UDA have refused to recognise his authority and operate independently, often engaging in organised crime ranging from drug-dealing to extortion. |
| Several journalists and reporters have faced death threats from terror groups on both sides of the sectarian divide. In 2001, the Loyalist Volunteer Force shot dead the Sunday World reporter Martin O'Hagan in front of his wife as the couple returned home from a night out in Lurgan, County Armagh. O'Hagan was the first journalist murdered by terrorists in Northern Ireland. | Several journalists and reporters have faced death threats from terror groups on both sides of the sectarian divide. In 2001, the Loyalist Volunteer Force shot dead the Sunday World reporter Martin O'Hagan in front of his wife as the couple returned home from a night out in Lurgan, County Armagh. O'Hagan was the first journalist murdered by terrorists in Northern Ireland. |
| His Sunday World colleague Jim Campbell, the paper's one-time northern editor, was seriously wounded after the Ulster Volunteer Force shot him at his home. | His Sunday World colleague Jim Campbell, the paper's one-time northern editor, was seriously wounded after the Ulster Volunteer Force shot him at his home. |
| Despite the peace process, a number of journalists still live under a tight security regime, with CCTV cameras around their homes, alarm buttons positioned in different parts of their houses and drop-bars on their front and back doors. | Despite the peace process, a number of journalists still live under a tight security regime, with CCTV cameras around their homes, alarm buttons positioned in different parts of their houses and drop-bars on their front and back doors. |
| Our editors' picks for the day's top news and commentary delivered to your inbox each morning. | |
| Our editors' picks for the day's top news and commentary delivered to your inbox each morning. Enter your email address to subscribe. |