The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), the European group of the International Federation of Journalists, today backed the call made to the British government by its affiliate the National Union of Journalists in the United Kingdon and Ireland to remind police authorities to show due respect for the longstanding rights and freedoms that have protected the special role of journalists.

The call came following a final ruling by three judges, sitting at the High Court last Thursday, that NUJ member Shiv Malik should hand over within seven days all source material relating to interviews with terrorism suspect Hassan Butt he is using in his book – Leaving al-Qaeda Inside the Mind of a British Jihadist.

Last month following a two-day judicial review supported financially by the NUJ and the Sunday Times, the judges overturned a original order obtained by Greater Manchester Police for being too broad in scope which, if implemented, would have seriously undermined the ability of journalists to persuade contacts to speak out.

Under the new revised order, Malik has been asked to hand over some of his source material, but under far more defined terms he could blank out information which would identify confidential sources other than Butt.

“It is important that last month’s ruling significantly narrowed the terms of the original order sought by Greater Manchester Police in March,” said EFJ Chairman Arne König, “ the court confirmed that the police will not be allowed to go on fishing expeditions and  use broad orders against journalists in order to get access to useful information.
However, despite the judges’ comments supporting the vital role of journalists, we should be concerned that the law failed to give journalists adequate protection.”

The NUJ says that UK counter-terrorism legislation continues to pose a real threat to the important role of investigative journalism in scrutinising and exposing terror organisations. By resisting police bids to grab his notes, Malik may have committed offences under the Terrorism Act 2000. Under Section 19 of this Act, failing to tell the police any knowledge of terrorist fundraising is a crime.

This case has been complex because Hassan Butt, suspected in taking part in terrorist training and operations, had admitted his identity to the police and offered to cooperate with their inquiries. Furthermore the book’s publishers Constable & Robinson have already handed an early manuscript of the book to the police last month after being served with a production order.

Malik finally handed over the material on Monday after his legal team decided that further legal challenges would be futile.

For more information contact the EFJ at +32 2 235 22 15

The EFJ represents over 250,000 journalists in over 30 countries in Europe