South Armagh POW regularly brutalised
Only three visits in seven months
By Mick Naughton.
29 year old Seamus McArdle from South Armagh was arrested by
heavily armed British soldiers, some in civilian clothing, near
Cregganduff near Crossmaglen on 10 April this year. In one of the
worst ever cases of brutality Seamus and four friends were
savagely beaten. They were then taken to Gough barracks
interrogation centre and again brutalised.
McArdle suffered extensive injuries, receiving staples to his
head. His nose and jaw were broken and his ear lacerated. The
scene of his arrest was described by a local man as being ``like a
butcher's yard, there was so much blood.''
The United Nations in Geneva put an `on notice' tag about his
horrific injuries when in British custody, details were also
recorded by the Committee on the Administration of Justice and
the British-Irish Human Rights Watch.
This week McArdle's condition has given his family and friends
grave cause for concern with the news that his days are being
spent on 22 hour lockup in a Special Secure Unit (SSU) in
Belmarsh prison outside London.
Following his seven days interrogation in Gough barracks he was
flown to Paddington Green interrogation centre where he was held
for another two and a half days before being charged in
connection with the 1996 explosion in the Isle of Dogs in London.
other South Armagh man, Paddy McKinley, was due to go on trial
on the Monday after McArdle was charged but this was adjourned
until trial next January when and McArdle will go before a London
court. Legal observers believe this is simply a mechanism to send
both men down on serious charges after a well-staged media
show-trial.
Seamus McArdle's sister Geraldine asked a simple question this
week. ``How many visits do you think my brother has had with
anyone from our family from last April? 20, 30? How about 3!''
Geraldine also told us that only she and her brother have been
`cleared' by the British `Home Office' for visits; Seamus's
mother still has not been able to visit her son and has not seen
him since April.
These three paltry `discretionary visits' and daily strip
searches have been the routine in Belmarsh for some time now, but
recently an increase in these degrading searches has resulted in
McArdle being denied crucial legal visits. In one week alone he
was strip searched 16 times and that was on a week when he
received no visits.
His local priest Father Russell in Crossmaglen has been active in
trying to get his mother and other family members on the
`clearance' list, but to date with no avail.
The conditions for the three visits McArdle has had have also
been subject to a 24 hour notice which makes it extremely
difficulty for anyone planning to fly over to England. Another
feature of his prison conditions is that in many cases his
jailers have openly boasted about disobeying the governor
rulings. Screws regularly kick McArdle's cell door during the
night shouting obscenities at him. English prisoners who are
technically on the same category as McArdle are treated
differently. Phoning home is a problem as well - he can only buy
a limited number of phone cards which are used up very quickly
given the long distance of his calls.
On an average week McArdle gets no visits yet is forced to strip
every item of clothing off. Then, totally naked, he is forced to
put on different clothes. Then 20 yards away the screws demand he
repeat the performance. This McArdle has refused to do, and so,
like Brian McHugh, strip searched 96 times in eight months, the
brutal treatment has continued.
``If pickets to highlight my brother's mistreatment can be
organised in London, Dublin and Belfast, it will help,'' Geraldine
said.
``Better still is for the people of South Armagh to get involved
in what is a denial of basic human rights. Our countryside is
strong as everyone knows. Let's show our solidarity and organise
to get the prisoners out and back to their families. With
prisoners month coming up there are opportunities. Let's use them
and force the British government to stop their torture and
degrading and inhuman practices.''
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