A man was today (Thursday) found guilty of encouraging support for a banned terrorist group.

Joseph Campbell, aka Joseph Farren, (25), of Gosheden Cottages in Derry, went on trial last week to deny a single charge of inviting support for a proscribed organisation, namely the Irish Republican Army.

In his ruling on Thursday, Judge Patrick Lynch KC, who sat without a jury in the Diplock-style trial, said he was “satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt” that Campbell was guilty of the offence.

During the trial, Belfast Crown Court heard the charge related to a post published on Campbell’s 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 told Judge Lynch that 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’.

The court heard this post received nine reactions being either ‘thumbs up’ ‘likes’ or ‘hearts’. The prosecution case was 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 was told it also had the profile picture and other posted photographs which are photographs of the defendant. 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.

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. 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.’

There was also a post stating: “Tesco van on the Lurgan railway line the other night. Sure every little helps…”.

This was in reference to rioting in Lurgan. 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 murdered UDR Lance Corporal Ken Newell, lying face down on a grass verge.

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.”

There was also a message which stated: “18 Brits didn’t last long down by narrow-water (sic).”

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. During closing submissions last week, the prosecution barrister said that the court can conclude beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant was the person who posted the photograph and caption on Facebook and it amounts to the defendant’s intention to invite support for a proscribed organisation.

Defence counsel Seamus McNeill KC said it was a reasonable possibility that this was a warning issued in the aftermath of the murder of Lyra McKee. In his ruling, Judge Lynch said he found that the Facebook account was attributable to the defendant and he posted the “actual impugned post”.

“I am entitled to rely upon the defendant’s refusal to give evidence in that whether the Facebook page is, as is alleged, his account and under this control or not is an issue of such simplicity that he could readily give evidence that it was not,” said Judge Lynch.

“The evidence satisfies me that the account in question is one set up by, and under the control of the defendant.”

He said it did not follow that the post itself can be attributed to the accused.

“However, the fact that it appears on his Facebook page and under his name is powerful evidence in itself. But in addition, the Crown point to the whole tenor of the entries on the site that have been produced indicating a fascination, if that be the correct term, with violent republican action against the State in pursuance of a political aim.”

Judge Lynch added: “The tenor of the (Facebook) post, I hold, is that the IRA have been frustrated in the past by the virtue of the presence of civilians in carrying out planned attacks upon Crown forces.

Consequently, those reading the post can support their aims, that is giving assistance to ensuring they are not close to their intended target. By doing so they will be lending actual support to the organisation enabling them to carry out their planned operations.

“The invitation is the request that the reader of the post should do so. Thus, I am satisfied that the post is in fact an invitation to support the IRA.”

The trial judge said he was satisfied Campbell knew exactly what the meaning of the post was and what its object was. Judge Lynch concluded: “I find all the necessary elements of the offence have been proven beyond a reasonable doubt and I find the defendant guilty of the offence of inviting support for a proscribed organisation, namely the IRA.”

The court ordered the Probation Board to compile a pre-sentence report on Campbell ahead of sentencing. No date for the sentencing hearing was set and Campbell was released on continuing bail.

Derry man found guilty of encouraging support for terror group with Facebook posts – The Irish News