6 April 1999
REPORTING ON NORTHERN IRELAND DANGEROUS, SAYS INDEX
It can be dangerous to report on Northern Ireland, say two articles in the latest "INDEX on Censorship" (Vol. 2, 1999). John O'Farrell writes about the recent murder of Eamon Collins, a Irish Republican Army (IRA) informant and author who wrote about his experiences as a member of the IRA. Collins wrote "Killing Rage", published in 1997 by Granta, which "INDEX" says caused "storms of controversy... among republicans who objected to his portrayal of the 'struggle' as nasty, brutish and, occasionally, drunk." Some politicians and members of the public were outraged that Collins profited from his book, considering his connection to violence and murder. Collins was supposed to give evidence in a libel case against the "Sunday Times" around the time of his murder, another reason someone might want him dead, says "INDEX".">http://www.indexoncensorship.org">"INDEX on Censorship" (Vol. 2, 1999). John O'Farrell writes about the recent murder of Eamon Collins, a Irish Republican Army (IRA) informant and author who wrote about his experiences as a member of the IRA. Collins wrote "Killing Rage", published in 1997 by Granta, which "INDEX" says caused "storms of controversy... among republicans who objected to his portrayal of the 'struggle' as nasty, brutish and, occasionally, drunk." Some politicians and members of the public were outraged that Collins profited from his book, considering his connection to violence and murder. Collins was supposed to give evidence in a libel case against the "Sunday Times" around the time of his murder, another reason someone might want him dead, says "INDEX".
In another article in "INDEX"'s news analysis on the United Kingdom, Tony Geraghty, author of "The Irish War", describes his ongoing persecution over his work. He was arrested in December 1998 by Ministry of Defence (MoD) Police who thoroughly searched and bugged his house in Britain, and carried off his files. He was questioned about pages in his book "describing how computerised surveillance systems, necessarily evolved for an exotic war across the water, are now being deployed against civilians in mainland Britain." He continues, "In particular, the MoD men wanted to know about my sources and were clearly irritated when I spoke about the 'sanctity' of such things." His case was then referred to the Crown Prosecution Service earlier this year, which "will have to decide whether [Geraghty is] to be the first writer to be prosecuted under Section 5 of the Official Secrets Act 1989, that part of the censorship law specifically aimed at scribes." The maximum sentence upon conviction is two years in jail. The author notes ironically that his book is sold unfettered across the UK.
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