Madam, - One of the hallmarks of a police state is the extent to which the government of the day uses police intelligence to undermine any source of opposition to its hold on power. A standard example is declaring political opponents guilty of serious crimes on the basis of "reliable" police evidence which is available only to the government.
That, of course, is exactly what the Minister for Justice did some months ago with his allegations against the Sinn Féin leadership.
His current allegations against journalist Frank Connolly are even more sinister. This goes much deeper than a move to derail any attempt by Sinn Féin to replace the PDs in power. It is a direct attack on investigative journalism that has exposed deep-rooted corruption in government. It will also have the effect of undermining an independent body working to expose corruption, to promote the highest standards of transparent, democratic government and, by implication, to prevent the current slide into a police state.
This is not the first occasion on which a Minister for Justice has used Garda intelligence or resources in a manner that has curbed investigative journalism. It is a first, however, for the use of Garda intelligence to smear individuals with serious criminal allegations as if they were fact. Not only does this deny the individuals in question the fundamental right to have criminal allegations against them determined in accordance with due process, but it also blurs the distinction between police intelligence and judicially proved fact.
The folly of this approach is vividly illustrated by the growing number of individuals who have been at the receiving end of serious criminal allegations on the basis of Garda intelligence which subsequently proved defective.
That the Minister should use Garda intelligence in this manner is a disturbing indication of the extent to which this country is assuming the mantle of a police state. This is a development which should be of concern to everyone, irrespective of political creed, who values basic principles of transparency in government, independence in the administration of justice and a person's right to due process before being declared guilty of a criminal conduct. - Yours, etc,
Prof DERMOT WALSH, Newgarden North, Lisnagry, Co Limerick.