Action alert - Maghaberry visitors strip-searched

The following is an action alert by families of republican prisoners being held at Maghaberry jail in county Antrim.

Since it has been brought to light that the British prison service and British police are forcing the visitors of republican prisoners and internees to comply with strip searches if they wish to visit relatives and friends in Maghaberry, it is clear that this needs to be highlighted as soon as possible, also section 44, POW status and criminalisation of POWs, internment by remand etc, which all fall under the bracket of ‘normalisation’.

As most of the mainstream media such as RTE, BBC, UTV etc wont cover such a burning and crucial issue,it may be possible to have it highlighted on FM104 which is Ireland largest independent commercial broadcaster, and in particular the Adrian Kennedy phone show, which from experience has never been much of a friend to republicans but is still willing to cover republican issue as it has done in the past, the show is the most listened to show daily and has huge listenership at night

It may be possible to get someone on the show to speak and highlight the issue, and get some publicity for Saturdays protest in Drogheda and other future protests, and most importantly let those in the dark know whats going on, two hours up the road.

What we will need to do, it blitz the station with emails and texts, forcing them to acknowledged the issue and give it mention and possible devote some time to the subject, everyone on here needs to send emails and texts to the show, possibly more then once to clog up there mailboxes.

I have prepared a small script for an email and text below, I understand it may not be perfect but considering it needs be done post haste I think we do.

Please I implore everyone, send an email and text in lets get this issue out there.

The following is a sample email to be sent using the online form at https://bit.ly/ad6eyW

To whom it may concern,

I implore you to cover an issue that is of utmost importance and needs to be addressed ASAP.

Currently in the occupied six counties of the North of Ireland, family and friends of republican prisoners are being subjected to rigorous strip searches when visiting any republican prisoner within Maghaberry prison.

Recently two women have been forced to comply with a strip search if they wished to see the republican prisoners they had come to visit.

On another occasion a man was forced to comply with a strip search despite the fact his visit with the republican had been refused.

During these searches, members of the British security service are present with sniffer dogs.

The use of strip searches by the British prison system in the North of Ireland is an absolute disgrace and needs to come to end, friends of relatives are entitled to visit their imprisoned loved ones without being subjected to such a degrading and humiliating practise, obviously being enforced to criminalise the republicans being held in the prisons, but aslo those who visit them.

This is all part of a campaign by the British government and the security services within the occupied six counties to enforce a policy which has become known by those affecting by it as ‘normalisation’, which has seen men and women being illegally interned despite having not being convicted of any crime, rigorous stop and searches of members of the public, the bugging of phones to record conversations etc,

All come from section 44, which allow the British security services to do all the above at will without fear of repirmand and with nobody to answer to, all in an effort to quell dissent to British rule and force the populous of the 6 counties to accept British rule and its institutions.

There are currently a number of man being held in Maghaberry prison despite having not being convicted of any crime, these internees families are liable to be forced to comply with the indignity of a strip search if they wish to visit thier interned loved ones.

This has to end, people across the 32 counties need to oppose this and let those in power this will not stand.

The following are sample texts to be texted to 53104 (in Ireland only)

End internment by remand, end section 44, POW status for republican prisoners, protest this Sat 2pm, bridge of peace Drogheda

End discriminatory strip searches of republican prisoners and visitors in Maghaberry now.

End ‘stop and search’ Human Rights Abuse Now; Section 44 of the British government’s ‘Terrorism’, Justice and Security Act’ has violated Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

17,000 people stopped and searched under section 44, and not a single conviction.

End Human Rights Abuse Now. Political status for all republican prisoners now. Protest this Sat 2pm, bridge of peace Drogheda.

Urgent Appeal