Kennedy and Keena to go to High Court over Bertie Leak

dublin | rights, freedoms and repression | news report

Thursday October 05, 2006 16:37

by Chris Murray - The Unmanageables

Mahon Wants to Compel Them to Divulge their Source

Ms Geraldine Kennedy and Mr Colm Keena are to appear before the
High Court to divulge the source of the Leak which led to 'Bertiegate'.
The story published on 21st September 2006, led to the endless
political Machiavellianism with which we are all familiar, which handed
the moral perogative to prop the Government to Mr Mc Dowell -An Tanaiste.

The last time a tribunal compelled someone to divulge source led too to
the High Court in the Notorious Howlin Case, wherein Brendan Howlin
TD was 'compelled' by the Morris Tribunal to divulge his source on the
Mc Brearty Case. I was in the Court that sad day, when the concept
of TD privilege was dropped and the tribunal's power underscored.
Ms Kennedy stands by her decision to publish in the public interest.

She faces a fine of 300,000 euros and or two years imprisonment if found guilty.

When questioned last week by Justice Mahon she admitted 'on legal advice'
that she had burnt the written evidence and would not divulge her source.
Mr Ahern had suceeded in keeping that node of the tribunal off the front pages
through injunction. Mr Cowen appeared yesterday and it went peachy (by all accounts).

The current Tanaiste and Minister for Justice is drafting laws which will further
hamper the business of newsgathering entitled the Privacy and Defamation Bills.

http://www.indymedia.ie/article/78780

and the defamation section in particular is covered very well in the
Digital Rights Ireland site: http://www.digitalrights.ie/category/defamation

The D.R.I are a lobby group which are attempting to sue the Tanaiste over
the Traffic Data Retention act (which Mary ORourke introduced as part of the
telecommunications directive)

In the scheme of things the Privacy/Defamation Bills would curb journalistic
rights to out the Manchester situation annd introduce a tort wherin imprisonment
and fines would be the net result of certain 'newsgathering'. The dept of Justice
also wants wants to create a statutory press agency-rather than an independent
self-regulating press council.

Ms Kennedy has not yet commented on the Mahon summons or confirmed
whether she will divulge her sources. She maintains that the publication of
Colm Keena's story was in the public interest.
It is not her first time falling foul of a Fianna Fail administration either, she was
bugged by a previous admin , during the Haughey era-leading to the
Doherty-gate scandal and resignation. Doherty always maintained his innocence.