Appeals Court Hears Case Of Secret IRA Tapes

A battle over recorded interviews with former members of the Irish Republican Army has been argued before a federal appeals court in Boston.

The recordings were made between 2001 and 2006 as part of a Boston College oral history project. Northern Ireland police are seeking them in criminal investigations dating to the 1970s.

Anthony McIntyre, a former IRA member who conducted the interviews, and Ed Moloney, an Irish journalist who directed the project, are appealing the dismissal of their lawsuit seeking to block the handover of the recordings.

Their attorney said Wednesday that McIntyre and other ex-IRA members face a "grave risk of physical harm" if the recordings are turned over to British authorities.

A government lawyer said a federal judge has already weighed the interests of the oral history participants.

The appeals court judges took the matter under advisement.