The Belfast and District Branch of the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) has expressed its full support for the Northern Editor of the Sunday Tribune newspaper, Ed Moloney, who has refused to hand over interview notes to detectives investigating the killing of the solicitor, Mr Pat Finucane, in 1989.
Mr Moloney has been requested to appear in an Antrim court on Monday as a result of his failure to comply with a court order instructing him to hand over the documentation to the RUC.
The journalist has pledged to protect the confidentiality of his notes of conversations with Mr William Stobie, an alleged police informer who has been charged with the murder of Mr Finucane but has pleaded not guilty.
The chairman of the Belfast branch of the NUJ, Mr Robin Wilson, yesterday called on members to show their solidarity with Mr Moloney by attending the court.
"The sanctity of journalistic sources and notebooks is paramount in a democratic society. Only if journalists are able fearlessly to pursue the truth, and their contacts are able to speak to them without fear of exposure, can genuinely free media exist," he said.
The editor of the Sunday Tribune, Mr Matt Cooper, has also expressed his full support for Mr Moloney.
Mr Stobie was a member of the Ulster Defence Association who allegedly acted as an RUC Special Branch informer from the late 1980s.
Mr John Stevens, of the London Metropolitan Police, recently began a fresh investigation into the murder and allegations of collusion. Two other men were questioned about the killing in July.
During a court appearance in June, Mr Joe Rice, defence solicitor for Mr Stobie, said his client had asked him to state that "the murky web of deceit and lies surrounding this murder doesn't emanate from him and he looks forward to the truth coming out at the inevitable trial".