Northern Ireland: World Press Freedom Day – release report into Martin O’Hagan’s murder

Patrick Corrigan, Amnesty International’s Northern Ireland Director, said:

“The murder of journalist Martin O’Hagan remains a stain on press freedom in Northern Ireland.

“Gunned down nearly 25 years ago, the police investigation into his murder delivered nothing. Initial charges brought against suspects were dropped. No one has been held accountable, and the release of the Police Ombudsman’s report into the failed investigation has been repeatedly delayed. It’s a disgrace.

“Northern Ireland is the most dangerous place in the UK for journalists, with the latest threat against a Belfast journalist’s life just weeks ago.

“The Police Ombudsman’s report must be published now - the O’Hagan family has been waiting for too long. If the Ombudsman’s investigation finds serious failings or wrongdoing by the police amounting to possible human rights violations, the Secretary of State must establish an independent public inquiry.

“The climate of impunity that allows threats and violence against journalists in Northern Ireland to continue must end once and for all.”

Fintan O’Hagan, Martin O’Hagan’s brother, said:

“The Police Ombudsman has to release its report now - for too long our family has been denied justice.

“The police investigation was clearly seriously flawed. The fact that in nearly a quarter of a century, no one has been brought to justice for my brother’s murder is an outrage.”

Desmond O’Hagan, brother of Martin O’Hagan, said:

“It is a disgrace even to consider the first police investigation as an investigation - it did nothing. The second investigation failed to lead to prosecutions. We need the Ombudsman’s report and then we need an independent public inquiry.”

Justice delayed is justice denied

Sunday World journalist Martin O’Hagan was shot dead on 28 September 2001 in Lurgan by members of a loyalist paramilitary group. He had written extensively about the activities of the organisation and its members.

In 2013, the Director of Public Prosecutions called in the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland to investigate the police handling of the case. Last year, the Ombudsman confirmed to Amnesty that their report was complete, but it still has not been published.

A 100-page report by Amnesty published in June 2025, ‘Occupational Hazard? Threats and violence against journalists in Northern Ireland’, documented how journalists continue to be regularly subjected to violence and threats, including death threats. The report revealed there were no prosecutions related to threats to journalists from paramilitaries, which made up the majority of the threats.