The NUJ is supporting the challenge by Suzanne Breen, the Northern Ireland editor of the Dublin-based Sunday Tribune, to an attempt by the police to obtain a wide-ranging high court order that would require her to hand over source material relating to the Real IRA.
The union says if the police and security services are able to access confidential journalistic material, the future of investigative journalism would be put at risk.
NUJ Irish Secretary Séamus Dooley claimed: "If the police begin to use journalists as a tool of intelligence gathering, sources won’t have confidence that they can speak openly to the press. That means stories will go uncovered and journalists will be put in physical danger."
A hearing is expected to resume at Belfast Crown Court this week.
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