The BBC was ordered to pay € 100,000 ($ 113,000) in damages to former president of Sinn Féin, Gerry Adams, in a defamation case on the murder of an Irish MI5 informant. Responding, the BBC said that today’s decision could “hinder freedom of expression”.
In a BBC documentary in Northern Ireland, broadcast in 2016 plus an online article, Adams was identified by an anonymous contributor as sanctioning the murder of Denis Donaldson in 2006, member of the Féin and Volunteer for the Irish Provisional Information (IRA) who was then exposed as informant MI5 soon after. The real IRA, which was distinct from the provision, claimed the responsibility of its murder in 2009.
According to BBC News, the Adams legal bill is considered by sources between 3 and 5 million euros. It would make the trial one of the most expensive cases that the BBC has ever fought.
Adams has always denied any involvement in the murder of Donaldson and an audience in Dublin has ordered the BBC today to pay him € 100,000. Adams is one of the most well -known Irish political figures in the modern era, who was president of Sinn Fein from 1983 to 2018. He had previously condemned the murder of Donaldson.
Adams has witnessed the trial which has taken place in the last five weeks, which has seen the BBC argue a defense of fair and reasonable reports on a question of public interest.
BBC News reported that the 11 -people jury should answer five questions.
They replied “yes”, namely whether the words of the program “mean that Mr. Adams sanctioned and approved the murder of Denis Donalds”. They answered the same thing to find out if the news article accompanying the doc did the same. They replied “no” to know if the BBC reported the allegations in good faith and they decided that ADAMS should receive € 100,000 after being interviewed about the value of damages.
Responding, the director of the BBC in Northern Ireland, Adam Smyth, said that the implications of the decision are “deep” and “could hinder freedom of expression”.
“As our legal team has clearly indicated, if the case of the BBC cannot be won under the existing Irish defamation law, it is difficult to see how someone could,” he added. “We did not want to come before the courts, but it was important that we defended our journalism and that we respect this decision. Our past is difficult field for any jury and we thank them for their diligence and their careful examination of questions in this case. ”
Smyth said that his team “believed that we provided in -depth evidence to the court of the careful editorial process and journalistic diligence applied to this program”, when “it was accepted by the Court, and conceded by the legal team of Gerry Adams, that the dissemination and publication of the spotlights were the highest public interest.”
Spotlight journalist Jennifer O’Leary added: “I said in the box of witnesses that I had nothing to hide, only sources to protect and I want to thank them for trusting me.”
