Republican News · Thursday 23 October 1997

[An Phoblacht]

Irish Political Prisoners - update

 

  • There are approximately 385 Irish political prisoners in jails in England and Ireland.

  • Over 60 are serving life.

  • Approximately 80 are serving 20 years or more.

     

    Irish Prisoners in England

  • There are 26 Irish political prisoners held in gaol in England.

  • Five prisoners - Vincent Donnelly, Eddie Butler, Joe O'Connell, Hugh Doherty, Harry Duggan - have served over 21 years. Vincent Donnelly will enter his 23rd year of imprisonment next May. The others will enter their 23rd year on 12 December of this year.

  • Six remand prisoners are currently in SSUs. The use of SSUs has been condemned by human rights bodies and medical experts. These prisoners are regularly strip-searched.

  • Irish political prisoners in England are denied compassionate parole.

  • All are seeking transfer to Ireland. The British Home Office continues to stall on repatriation/transfer despite legislation being in place to facilitate this.

  • Relatives of Irish prisoners who make the expensive and arduous journey to England for visits continue to be harassed under the PTA and still occasionally find that the prisoner has been `ghosted', moved overnight to another prison without warning to either the prisoner or family.

  • Elderly and infirm relatives are unable to travel to England.

     

    Republican Women Prisoners

  • The NIO operates a policy of discrimination against women prisoners.

  • Facilities available to women fall far short of those available to male prisoners in either Maghaberry or Long Kesh.

  • Restrictive conditions in the women's prison, which male prisoners are no longer subjected to, include lock-ups, limited association and exercise periods, confined exercise space and restrictive access to telephones.

  • Women POWs leaving or returning to the jail continue to be strip-searched.

  • Since 1982 over 4000 strip-searches have been carried out on a female POW population which has never exceeded 32 women.

  • Strip-searching has been condemned by many human rights bodies including Amnesty International and the National Council for Civil Liberties.

     

    Over 60 Republican prisoners are serving life

  • Lifers in the Six Counties serve, on average, 17-20 years.

  • Three Republican prisoners sentenced in England to life imprisonment have been set `whole life' tariffs. While the courts have rescinded two of these, one man is still subject to a `whole life' tariff. Whole life tariffs should be scrapped.

  • British army private Ian Thain, sentenced to life, was released after two years. British paratrooper Lee Clegg, sentence to life, was released after two and a half years, reinstated in his regiment and promoted.

  • 60% of the current Republican prisoner population have already served twice the time Lee Clegg spent in prison.

  • The average length of sentence being served by republican prisoners is a little over 18 years.

  • Lifers are considered for release by an anonymous Review Board.

  • They are denied legal representation at such review hearings.

  • They are denied access to secret reports, compiled by unnamed prison staff, which are the basis for Review Board decisions to recommend release or not.

  • They are offered no explanation for a decision not to recommend release.

  • They cannot challenge any such decision.

     

    Portlaoise

  • Four prisoners in Portlaoise Prison are serving 40 year sentences. Three have served 13 years and one has served 17 years.

  • Sean Kinsella was rearrested in March of this year after having served 21 years in an English jail and he is now in Portlaoise, from where he escaped in 1974.
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