No extradition of political prisoners
Posted by Jim on November 10, 2018
No extradition of political prisoners
————————————————————————
The question of extradition has come back into public focus following
the arrest on Monday and detention of Donegal republican John Downey
over IRA charges detain from 1972. After three nights behind bars, Mr
Downey was granted bail on Thursday.
This week Dublin City Council became the third council to pass motions
against the extradition of Irish Republicans to the North. The following
is a piece by councillor Ciaran Perry explaining the campaign which saw
his motion passed this week.
————————————————————————
I had the following motion passed at the Dublin City Council meeting
last night. I was disappointed but not surprised that the leader of the
Labour Party on the council didn’t support a human rights motion in
relation to political prisoners. Dermot Lacey was the only councillor
who didn’t support the motion.
I don’t support the extradition of Irish political prisoners under any
circumstances. Political interference in the system, discrimination
against Republican prisoners, punishment by denying political prisoners
educational opportunities all apply… but this motion is specifically
about opposing extradition to a dangerous prison in an unfair
jurisdiction.
I don’t believe we should be allowing the extradition of political
prisoners to a prison which clearly can’t provide a safe environment for
the current inmates never mind future inmates. If Her Majesty’s Chief
Inspector of Prisons in England and Wales described the prison as the
most dangerous prison he had ever seen, I think we can assume that it
shouldn’t be housing any prisoners let alone political prisoners. The
report by the Inspectorate of Prisons in England and Wales was
absolutely damning and there is no evidence that any of the concerns
raised have been addressed satisfactorily since.
Since 2007 there have been 50 deaths in custody in Maghaberry. This
again highlights the fact that this prison is not a safe environment for
anybody. The Prison Ombudsman has raised concerns that their
recommendations on tackling prison deaths have still not been
implemented. Clearly the administration doesn’t prioritise the safety of
the inmates.
Currently two political prisoners, Sean Farrell and Ciaran Maguire, are
facing extradition to a jurisdiction which is due to leave the European
Union next March under Brexit. This leaves the men in a very precarious
situation regarding rights they currently enjoy. While they may be
extradited under a European Arrest Warrant, after March they do not know
what legislation will apply or what rights of appeal they will have if
found guilty. We cannot extradite the men with such a risk of
uncertainty.
There is an urgency to address this situation because the European Court
of Justice has recently ruled that uncertainty over Brexit isn’t a
reason to stop extradition to Britain or the six counties and the
extradition of prisoners has already begun.
Motion
This council opposes the extradition of Irish political prisoners to
Maghaberry prison in the six counties.
The onset of Brexit in March 2019 will disadvantage any political
prisoners who may have been extradited under the European Arrest Warrant
(EAW) framework but will no longer enjoy rights applying to EU nationals
including EU sentence appeal processes.
Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Prisons in England and Wales Nick
Hardwick described the prison as the most dangerous prison he had ever
seen.
The last comprehensive report on Maghaberry prison by “Her Majesty’s
Inspectorate of Prisons in England and Wales” was damning and described
the prison as “in crisis” and “unsafe and unstable” for prisoners and
staff. The report highlights discrimination against Catholic prisoners.
The conditions in Maghaberry prison are inhumane with forced strip
searches, forced isolation and restricted association.
All Republican prisoners in Maghaberry prison are denied educational
opportunities.
There have been 50 reported deaths in prisons in the six counties since
2007 and the Prison Ombudsman has expressed concern about the
non-implementation of its recommendations on prison deaths.
Reason for the emergency motion: The recent decision by the European
Court of Justice in relation to extradition from Ireland to the UK ruled
that ‘Mere notification by a member state of its intention to withdraw
from the European Union is not an “exceptional” circumstance capable of
justifying a refusal to execute an EAW issued by that member state’.
This decision has resulted in the recent extradition of a prisoner to
Maghaberry prison and may be used to complete the halted extradition of
another 20 current cases.