Belfast Crown Court heard the charge related to a post published on his Facebook page on June 14, 2020, containing a statement from Oglaigh na hEireann
A Derry man went on trial on Tuesday accused of encouraging support for violent dissident republicans.
Joseph Campbell, aka Joseph Farran, 25, of Gosheden Cottages in the city, denied a single charge of inviting support for a proscribed organisation under the Terrorism Act 2000.
Belfast Crown Court heard the charge related to a post published on his Facebook page on June 14, 2020, containing a statement from Oglaigh na hEireann (IRA).
The text of the post read: “The primary consideration of Oglaigh na hEireann active service units while exploring the viability of any operation is the safety of the civilian population in the area. As a result, many actions are cancelled or delayed, greatly endangering the security and lives of our volunteers, because of the proximity of civilians to Crown forces personnel.
“We therefore appeal for your cooperation and understanding and ask you to stay clear of all Crown force personnel. Signed: Oglaigh na hEireann.'”
The post also contained an image of a soldier, with the slogan: “Stay Clear. Isolate the Enemy, Keep Them in Fear. A prosecution lawyer said the image appeared to be from a historical post.
The lawyer said the text from the post also appears in the same poster, with the addendum ‘Go raibh maith aigibh’ and is signed off ‘Belfast Brigade, Oglaigh na hEireann’.
Judge Patrick Lynch KC, sitting alone without a jury in the Diplock-style trial, heard this post received nine reactions being either ‘thumbs up’ or ‘hearts’.
The prosecution contended that Campbell was linked to the Facebook page as it bears his name as Joe Campbell, has a ‘vanity name’ of ‘joseph.farren319’ and it also has its own target number which was the target number of the Facebook profile accessed on the mobile phone seized from the defendant’s home.
The court heard it also had the profile picture and other posted photographs which are photographs of the defendant.
And the IP address used to access Facebook on June 14, 2020 is the same IP address as that assigned to the Talktalk router registered to the home of Mr Campbell’s mother at Gosheden Cottages where he lived.
The court heard that on November 4, 2020, police seized the defendant’s mobile phone from his home and submitted it for examination. The Instagram account on the phone showed the owner of the phone as ‘Joe’ and the Facebook account as ‘Joe Campbell’.
Campbell was arrested at his home that day and during police interviews he made no reply to all questions put to him.
Further examination of Campbell’s Facebook account showed repeated expressions of support for dissident republicans and the IRA between June 2020 and September 2020.
A banner photograph on the profile showed graffiti which read: ‘RUC Beware. The IRA have had their Weetabix.”
The court was told there was also a quote purportedly from Dolours Price which read: “The bodies of informers should be thrown out on the street to put the fear of God and the republican movement into anybody that would choose that form of life”.
This quotation was shared alongside a picture of ‘British agent, Denis McFadden’ and a photograph of UDR Lance Corporal Ken Newell, lying face down in a grass verge, with his hands bound behind his back.
The court heard Denis McFadden was alleged to have been involved in an undercover MI5 operation against dissident republicans.
The account also referenced Peadar Heffron, a Catholic PSNI officer, who was blown up in Randalstown in January 2010 by an undercover improvised explosive device as he drove to work and lost both his legs.
A caption beside his picture read: “When the war is over what will sammy do? He’ll be hopping around on a leg and a half whilst the general still has two.”
It also shared a statement from Oglaigh na hEireann which confirmed that they remained “active and committed to achieving a 32 county socialist republic” through ”physical force”.
A photograph was also posted on Campbell’s Facebook account of graffiti stating: ‘IRA here to stay. Informers will be executed’.
An examination of Campbell’s phone showed internet searches were carried out for ‘IRA’, ‘Lyra McKee’, ‘new ira sophistication’, ‘peadar heffron’, ‘South Derry’, and ‘derry ira’.
The prosecutor said Campbell’s Facebook posts contained a mixture of “historical and contemporaneous material relating to dissident republicanism and dissident republican activities”.
She said it was for the court to determine what was the purpose behind posting the image and text on June 14, 2020.
“To consider the June 14 post in isolation from the others would be illogical as it would create the false impression that this was a random event devoid of its necessary context,” said the prosecution barrister.
“Anyone viewing the defendant’s Facebook page in August and September would see the other posts.
“The necessary context, provided by the other social media posts and internet searches, is therefore evidence to do with the facts of the case.”
Campbell was not called to give evidence in his trial and sat in the dock flanked by a single prison officer.
Defence counsel Seamus McNeill KC said there was “no evidence that the defendant posted the material to Facebook on June 14, 2020.”.
“There is no evidence from his mobile to show that it was used to post that post on Facebook,” said Mr McNeill.
“There is absolutely no evidence that whoever posted that on June 14 was responsible for composing it. It does seem that this was something lifted from an original poster which is of historical significance as it certainly dates back before the Good Friday Agreement.
“It is not without note that all the posts that the prosecution rely on post date June 14, posts from August and September. In so far as the internet searches on the defendant’s phone can be interpreted as giving an insight into his political leanings and sympathies, in my opinion they would not in isolation constitute evidence of a disposition towards the commission of an offence.
“This case is simply about whether or not the posting can be interpreted as an invitation to support a proscribed organisation,” added Mr McNeill.
Following the conclusion of the trial, Judge Lynch said he would give his ruling on Wednesday, November 5, 2025.
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