The Police Board of Northern Ireland has received a request to initiate an investigation into claims that reporters were illegally monitored in covert operations by law enforcement. Amnesty International along with the Committee on the Administration of Justice (CAJ) have formally reached out to the board, which serves as the supervisory entity for the PSNI, expressing serious apprehensions about possible widespread surveillance practices inflicted on journalists and others.
This request comes in the wake of a tribunal hearing that highlighted a secret surveillance action carried out by police post the arrest of two journalists, aiming to expose their source. This tribunal, the Investigatory Powers Tribunal (IPT), learnt recently that the 2018 arrest of documentary filmmakers, Barry McCaffrey and Trevor Birney, was a calculated manoeuvre to prompt the reporters to contact their source post their release from jail. The IPT is currently investigating claims that these acclaimed journalists were the victims of illicit covert operations by the UK authorities.
McCaffrey and Birney were arresteds controversially in 2018 as a segment of a police inquiry into the alleged leakage of a confidential document disclosed in their documentary based on a Troubles massacre. A year later, both journalists lodged a complaint with the tribunal, urging it to verify if there had been any illegal monitoring of their activities.
A note to Deirdre Toner, the Chairwoman of the Policing Board, penned by Patrick Corrigan from Amnesty and Daniel Holder from the CAJ, elaborates, “Our organisations persist in expressing serious apprehensions about the extent of covert surveillance tactics employed against journalists and others.” The letter further outlines their concerns of potential illegal activities and contraventions of the European Convention on Human Rights, and prompts the Policing Board to take definitive action.
The correspondence also states that if the board chooses not to initiate an inquiry, the organisations wish to understand the board’s approach towards ensuring PSNI’s adherence to human rights, considering this issue not only has the “potential to undermine public trust in law enforcement, but also in policing oversight mechanisms”.
A representative from the Policing Board said they are set to look over the communication received from Amnesty during the monthly assembly this coming Thursday. Meanwhile, in relation to the ongoing legal proceedings, a statement issued by a PSNI representative stated it wouldn’t be suitable to make any comments, according to PA.