The head of a terrorist victims' organisation who has received more than a dozen death threats has been refused permission to get a gun in order to defend himself.
Mr William Frazer, of Families Acting for Innocent Relatives (FAIR), has also been refused admission to the Key Persons Protection Scheme.
But in the High Court in Belfast yesterday Mr Frazer won the first round in his battle to get both decisions overturned.
Mr Justice Weatherup granted him leave to apply for a judicial review of the decisions taken by the Secretary of State.
Mr Frazer said afterwards: "The judge has got us over the first hurdle. He has recognised that there are questions to be answered by the government as to how and why they made these decisions."
The hearing was told that one of the reasons why Mr Frazer was refused a licence for a personal protection weapon was that he had associated with alleged paramilitaries.
His barrister, Mr David Scoffield, told the court: "The very nature of his work entails that sometimes he has to engage with people of an unsavoury nature."
Mr Scoffield said Mr Frazer was well-known in the south Armagh area and had come to the attention of republican paramilitaries. "He has annoyed and displeased them to such an extent that a number of death threats have been made against him," Mr Scoffield said.
"The police now require him to inform them when he is going into south Armagh so that they can provide extra forces on the ground to protect him. Yet the authorities have assessed the threat to his life not to be real or immediate."
Mr Justice Weatherup said when Mr Frazer asked the names of the paramilitary organisations the police had in mind, he was not given an answer and ultimately the Secretary of State said confidential police information could not be disclosed. "Such a blanket response is not the right response," the judge said.
On the protection scheme, he said it was unspoken that those admitted to it were seen to be supporters of and contributing to the democratic structures.
"It is said that the applicant (Mr Frazer) is not so contributing but doesn't say why," the judge said. "If the police are of a view that he is connected with terrorism, they should say so."
The case is due back in court next month.