Martin O'Hagan: NUJ calls on PM Liz Truss to support an international investigation into murder of Lurgan journalist

The NUJ has called on Prime Minister Liz Truss to support an international investigation into the murder of Lurgan journalist Martin O’Hagan 21 years ago.
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Mr O’Hagan, who worked for the Sunday World, was shot dead close to his home in Lurgan by UVF terrorists on September 28, 2001.

The National Union of Journalists renewed its demands for an international investigation on the anniversary of his murder.

The union called on the British and Irish governments to give immediate priority to the establishment of an independent investigation into the murder of investigative journalist.

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It called on the new British Prime Minister Liz Truss to take ‘urgent steps’ to establish an investigation.

Martin O'Hagan was an Irish investigative journalist from Lurgan, Co Armagh. He was gunned down as he walked home with his wife on September 28, 2001.Martin O'Hagan was an Irish investigative journalist from Lurgan, Co Armagh. He was gunned down as he walked home with his wife on September 28, 2001.
Martin O'Hagan was an Irish investigative journalist from Lurgan, Co Armagh. He was gunned down as he walked home with his wife on September 28, 2001.

Séamus Dooley, NUJ assistant general secretary, also renewed calls for publication of the report of the Police Ombudsman into the PSNI investigation into the killing. That call has been supported by Amnesty, Northern Ireland.

Mr Dooley said: “Year after year we find ourselves demanding an end to the official indifference to the appalling failure to properly investigate the circumstances leading to the murder of Martin O’Hagan. Publication of the Ombudsman’s report and the establishment of an independent investigation by an international panel is necessary in order to answer the many disturbing questions which arise from Martin’s murder.

“We are calling on the British Prime Minister Liz Truss and Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris to take urgent steps to initiate a fresh investigation. We are also seeking the support of Taoiseach Michael Martin for an independent investigation into the murder of a respected journalist whose only crime was his tenacity and professional commitment.

“The passage of time does not obliterate the need for an independent investigation drawn from outside the UK to investigate the murder and the subsequent police failings.

“On the contrary, these failings re-enforce the widespread belief that those who murdered Martin were informers, or linked to informers and thus protected. Only an independent investigation can address these concerns. It is vital that the truth about who killed Martin O’Hagan, why he was killed and why his killers appear to enjoy impunity is finally established.

“This year our thoughts are with the O’Hagan family in a special way as they mark the anniversary of Martin’s death without their beloved mother Marie. Marie died in April of this year and her loss is deeply felt. She was a tower of strength to Martin in his journalism and in his role as a trade union activist and faced the dreadful loss of her husband with grace and dignity."

At the time of his murder Martin O’Hagan was secretary of Belfast and District branch of the NUJ.

Robin Wilson, NUJ Belfast & District branch chair, said: “The failure to bring to justice the killers of my former professional colleague Martin O’Hagan after 21 years is a stain on policing in Northern Ireland. Very quickly after Martin’s murder, journalists knew the identities of the perpetrators. We remain extremely concerned that the sustaining of relationships with informers inside the ranks of paramilitaries on the part of the police explain the failure on the part of the PSNI to secure any successful prosecution in this case.

“We repeat the call for a fresh, independent investigation, to end this denial of justice to Martin’s loved ones and to send out a clear signal that journalists—and so the freedom of the press on which a civilised society depends—cannot be attacked with impunity."

Amnesty International Northern Ireland has consistently supported the NUJ campaign to have an independent investigation into the murder of Martin O’Hagan.

Patrick Corrigan, Amnesty International’s Northern Ireland programme director, said: “The authorities’ failure to bring Martin O’Hagan’s killers to justice has fed into a climate of fear for journalists in Northern Ireland.

“There is little confidence in a PSNI-led investigation as it’s long been suspected that Martin’s killers were protected by the PSNI because some of those who carried out this murder were paid police informers.

“We’re calling on the Police Ombudsman to publish the report of her long-running investigation into the failed police probe, a move which may finally provide some answers for the O’Hagan family into why the killers have gone unpunished all these years.

“Press freedom is the cornerstone of any rights-respecting society and we must ensure the authorities guard it closely and are called to account if they fail to do so.”