Former IRA activists say they plan to sue Boston College this week, arguing the school violated a confidentiality agreement when they released tapes from an oral history project about the organization to authorities in Northern Ireland.

The tapes, part of the school’s “Belfast Project,’’ interviewed over 40 former militants who were told their testimonies would only be released after their death.

The BBC reports:

The lead case is being taken by former IRA man Richard O'Rawe. Mr O'Rawe alleges the university breached its contract with him by not advising him that his testimony might be released by a court order. ... Speaking on Monday night, Mr O'Rawe said: "I entered into the project in good faith in order to contribute to an important historical narrative of the conflict. "My contribution never mentioned anything at all about the disappearance and murder of Jean McConville, because I know nothing about it."

One of the subjects in the tapes alleged that former Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams was involved in one of the Troubles’ most notorious murders—the execution-style killing of mother Jean McConville in 1972—which prompted his arrest earlier this month.


He was released by police Sunday.