The Republic of Ireland has arrested four BBC journalists in a sweep intended to break up paramilitary activity in County Donegal. The BBC has protested that the four had permission to work in the area, which borders the six-county territory of Northern Ireland:
Four British Broadcasting Corp. journalists were among seven men arrested in Ireland in connection with an investigation into paramilitary activity, the BBC said Sunday.
The news organization said the journalists were working on a current affairs program when they were arrested by Irish police Saturday.
Ireland’s police confirmed that seven men between the ages of 30 and 48 were in custody but declined to provide further details.
I suspect that we will see them get released soon, and the entire incident will likely get passed off as a misunderstanding. One has to wonder what exactly the four journalists were doing, though, to get caught in a counterterrorist raid by Ireland, which has a long history of trying to keep the Troubles from spilling over into their nation. Whatever it was, the Irish didn’t much appreciate it.
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