Republican News · Thursday 9 January 1996
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Irish remand prisoners denied legal advice
BY LIAM O COILEAIN
Eleven Irish remand prisoners held in Belmarsh Prison's Special Secure Unit in London have issued a fresh appeal for an end to closed visits which have, they say, impeded their chance of receiving a fair trial.
Seven of the prisoners arrested in July 1996 have been committed for trial at the Old Bailey in London on 8 April. Their cases have been processed for arraignment without them having yet had the basic aid of normal open visits with their solicitors. The other four Irish prisoners, arrested in September 1996, are due to be committed for trial on 10 January, and have also been denied open legal visits.
In a letter the eleven remand prisoners confirm that they have refused to accept closed legal visits and on legal advice are refusing any further such visits.
Solicitors have advised the men that they have a basic right to unimpeded legal visits. The men feel it is impossible to conduct a defence through closed visits. They believe that closed visits are in breach of both British and European prison rules.
Solicitors for the men are currently taking legal action to secure the right to open legal visits and to overturn the present policy in Belmarsh of discretionary squat searches on top of the mandatory strip search procedure.
The prisoners have also complained that their families have been denied open visits, being deemed security risks, whereas Irish TDs and embassy officials are allowed open visits. They met with Fianna Fáil TD Eamon O Cuív in early December when they discussed prison-related issues and aired their concerns.
They have now requested visits from the leaderships of Sinn Féin and the SDLP to highlight their concerns.
The prisoners have also complained about the imposition of new intimate and intrusive searches of visitors including family, solicitors and probation service officials, already condemned by the National Association of Probation Officers in England as an assault on the person.
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