Colleagues of murdered journalist Martin O'Hagan have revealed, how
they were attacked last friday the 15th of November 2009, by loyalist supporters of the British sponsored death squad, accused of killing the reporter. They also highlighted
the lack of any form of protection, around one of Ireland's busiest
courts in the North.
A death squad of loyalists smashed up a car belonging to Jim McDowell,
the Sunday World's Editor in the North, outside Craigavon court on
Friday. McDowell and his work colleague Hugh Jordan, were in the court
at a remand hearing for five men, one of them a Roman Catholic, who
have been charged in connection with the killing of Martin O'Hagan, a
journalist assassinated by .the British death squad.
They were no uniformed PSNI on duty inside the Co Armagh courthouse
last week even though those accused are linked to the Loyalist
Volunteer Force.
Editor McDowell, said the mob descended on the court and threatened
him and his colleague: "My car was in the car park of the courthouse,
just yards from the steps leading into the building which is supposed
to be at the heart of the British legal system, in the occupied part of
Ireland.
"I had been in court reporting the latest stage in the bid to bring
Martin O'Hagan's murderers to justice. Three of five men charged in
connection with the journalist's slaying, were in court.
"Nothing happened inside the courthouse, unlike the first appearance at
Lisburn court, when another Loyalist Volunteer Force killer took a picture of Hugh and myself
on a mobile phone, as if they didn't already know who we were.
"However, this latest pathetic attempt at intimidation didn't happen
inside the court. It happened outside Craigavon courthouse, in
broad daylight, blatantly at lunchtime on Friday.
"Hugh Jordan and I had just walked out to make phone calls. We heard a
banging noise, like gunshots. Hugh looked down and said: 'Someone's
attacking your car'." He said the attacker was then driven off in a
car, while the majority of the mob remained outside issuing threats to
the two journalists.
McDowell said he was struck by the lack of any form security at the court.
"When I ran into the security annex at the courthouse manned by two
civilians and asked them to call the police, they told me there was no
direct line to the local PSNI. I had to stand in the annex myself and
dial 999 on my mobile phone. What would happen if armed gunmen tried
to storm and kill a judge in that, or any other similar courthouse?"
He said that the fact that the Loyalist mob had smashed up his car in a
court car park, under the courthouse's CCTV cameras, showed they could
make "a fool of law and order in this country".
Andrew Robert King and Neil Hyde are charged with murdering Sunday
World investigative reporter O'Hagan in September 2001. King's
brother, Robin, is charged with attempting to pervert the course of
justice, Nigel Leckey is charged with murder and possession of
ammunition and Mark Kennedy, a 28-year-old Catholic from south
Belfast, is charged with helping to facilitate the disposal or
concealment of a getaway car. Along with Kennedy, the King brothers
have been granted bail, while Hyde and Leckey remain on remand in
prison.
O'Hagan was shot dead as he walked home with his wife from a pub in
Lurgan, Co Armagh. The murder was claimed by the Red Hand Defenders, a
cover name used by both the Loyalist Volunteer Force and the Ulster
Defence Association with death squads colluding with the help of the
British many times before when lawyers and other professionals were
target by the British sponsored death squads. Martin O'Hagan had a
reputation for breaking stories about British sponsored paramilitary
crime.
Since the much touted "peace process" there has been an upsurge in
intimidation of any media pointing out the contradictions of the
"process" with attacks by Martin McGuinness against the free press and
intimidation of newsagents. intimidation of the Editor of the
Sunday tribune and the PSNI threatening to imprison her, if she would
not reveal the identity of her sources. Plain people live in fear in
many housing estates that have been attacked recently, by other loyalist death squads,
who have recently murdered another innocent victim.
Ordinary people are incensed at the appointment of an English cop as
head of a newly named PSNI force, who has a history of uncaring
negligence. Eerily for Editor McDowell the RUC always disappeared
before British sponsored assassinations of the past and locals believe
that the British PSNI police are just a cosmetic name change for more of the same.
Many plain people in the six counties complain that nothing has changed in
occupied Ireland since the "peace process" indeed some complain that
since the arrival of (Baggot;see LINK) its slowly but surely getting worse and that they are defenceless without the armalite and an indifferent PSNI, many of whom have a shoot to kill culture of unarmed civilians at checkpoints and a record of disappearing to collude and enable assassinations by British death squads.
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