Updated: Sat Jul. 09 2005 1:52:04 PM

Canadian Press

TORONTO — Notorious sex killer Paul Bernardo will remain barred from speaking to the news media because it could jeopardize the safety of other inmates or hurt his chances of rehabilitation, correctional authorities said Friday.

The decision to block Bernardo's access to the media was made by Donna Marrin, warden of Kingston Penitentiary, where he is serving an indefinite life sentence in the prison's segregation unit for the sex-and-torture murders of two Ontario schoolgirls.

"At times, when high-profile offenders have access to the media, it can be disruptive or destabilizing to the institution,'' said Holly Knowles, a spokeswoman for Correctional Service Canada.

"We have to consider the safety and security of the institution or individuals within.''

Knowles also took issue with Bernardo's effort earlier this week to get around the ban by having his lawyer speak publicly for him.

"It's unfortunate because it undermines our initiatives in the sense that we believe that the restriction was justified,'' she said.

A second consideration in upholding the long-standing media blackout on Bernardo was whether media access was "inconsistent with or contrary to'' his rehabilitation plan, Knowles added, although she wouldn't say whether such a plan is in place for Bernardo.

The ban prevents Bernardo, 40, from having access to either reporters or cameras, although the restrictions are subject to periodic reviews.

Generally, it is up to inmates to decide whether they want to speak to the media and it is rare their wishes are overruled.

"It's certainly unusual,'' Bernardo lawyer Tony Bryant said Friday.

Bryant said he had previously advised his client to file an internal grievance against the ban but it's not clear whether Bernardo has done so.

Bernardo has been particularly sought after by news media in light of the intense interest in the release of his former wife and partner in crime, Karla Homolka.

Amid questions about whether she remains a danger to society, Homolka was freed from a Quebec prison on Monday after serving her entire 12-year manslaughter sentence, and immediately gave an interview to French television insisting she's not at risk to reoffend.

Bernardo has apparently been itching to weigh in publicly, but has managed only to speak out through Bryant.

On Tuesday, Bryant repeated Bernardo's assertion that it was Homolka who actually killed teens Kristen French and Leslie Mahaffy. He also said it was Homolka who decided the girls had to die out of fear they would be able to identify the couple as their captors.

Cynthia Kinch, director of news programming for the CBC, said it was important to find out what light Bernardo could shed on Homolka, but Bryant's statements on his behalf this week had eased any urgency.

"His news value was diminished to us substantially then,'' Kinch said. "Through his lawyer, he already told us what we would have asked him had we got the interview.''

Bernardo can also appeal to the office of the correctional investigator, which investigates inmate complaints, or take the matter to Federal Court.

Kinch said the CBC will wait to see how the process plays out.

"If we felt that this was totally fundamental to press freedom, we would challenge it,'' said Kinch.

"But an interview with Paul Bernardo I don't think quite reaches that bar.''