Posted by Jim on May 24, 2012
The constant political persecution directed against me by DUP extremists is quite extraordinary. Never has any Republican prisoner had to endure such a prolonged venomous onslaught. The latest outburst by Nigel Dodds, Arlene Foster and Maurice Morrow as reported on the front page of the Newsletter on May 23rd is just another example of this.
I contend that this obsession with me has nothing to do with justice or even politics but rooted in a near satanic hatred of the Catholic Faith of which I am perceived to be a defender by some of these extremists. Much of this can be traced to October 2010, when the Dungannon Free Presbyterian sect founded by Ian Paisley and with significant DUP membership, placed a paid advertisement in Dungannon based Tyrone Courier newspaper, which described the Catholic mass as “blasphemous fable” and the pope as “a man of sin” and the “antichrist”
Incredibly the Tyrone Courier published the ad and Catholics, who constitute overwhelmingly the majority of the population in Tyrone, were outraged. As a member of the AOH in Tyrone I was approached to give leadership on this issue and I did.
In the first instance I brought a complaint to the Advertising Standard Agency and, amid much local publicity, asked Unionist politicians in the area to condemn this type of anti-Catholic sectarianism outright. They refused to do so, but they were clearly and seriously rattled by the fact that Catholics would no longer tolerate this “croppies lie down” attitude. In their rage, they have run a very personalized hate campaign against me ever since, which puts self righteous hysterical media tirades into context.
Bearing all this in mind, I now once again call upon Arlene Foster and Maurice Morrow to condemn this type of anti-Catholic sectarianism in East Tyrone without reservation. Should they fail to do so, they must stand indicted before the world as unrepentant sectarian bigots with whom civilized society should have no truck.
Helen McClafferty
Chairperson – USA
Free Gerry McGeough Campaign
www.freegerry.com
Posted by Jim on
by Helen McClafferty on Wednesday, May 23, 2012 at 11:30pm
The Free Gerry McGeough Campaign would like to thank John McDonnell MP for raising the topic about Gerry McGeough’s case in the House of Commons as requested.
John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what recent representations he has received on the case of Gerry McGeough.
Mr Paterson: I receive correspondence on a wide range of issues, including the case of Gerry McGeough.
John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment he has made of the implications for the peace process in Northern Ireland of the continued incarceration of Gerry McGeough; and if he will make a statement.
Mr Paterson: Mr McGeough’s appeal against the judgment in the Government’s favour in his judicial review is due to be heard by the Northern Ireland Court of Appeal in June. It would therefore be inappropriate for me to comment further pending the final resolution of that matter.
John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will review the case of Gerry McGeough under paragraph 20 of the Good Friday Agreement.
Mr Paterson: Paragraph 20 of the Good Friday Agreement bears no relation to the case of Mr McGeough
www.freegerry.com
Posted by Jim on
by Damian Herron , Northern Ireland Chairman, Free Gerry McGeough Campaign, Wednesday, May 23, 2012 at 8:16pm ·
The ‘law abiding’ Unionists have consistently refused to accept that the Good Friday Agreement was an agreement that related to both the Nationalist and Unionist communities. They have consistently refused to call for the prosecution of British Security Force personnel who murdered innocent Catholics. They are delighted to receive peace funding yet they continually try to destabilise the peace process by their actions. Only recently the Orange Order received over £800,000 in peace funding to help them build bridges and feel more confident. The Unionists have no right to a single penny of peace funding or donations from any quarter until they accept that Nationalists and Republicans are entitled to benefit equally from the peace process.
The Irish American organisations who donate funding into Unionist areas are now being contacted. Those donations should no longer be available to the Unionist communities.
DUP Nigel Dodds and company can explain to their own communities the reasons why.
“In your Political Lifetime Dodds. Gerry McGeough will be free”
http://www.newsletter.co.uk/news/local/dodds-says-sdlp-pitching-for-dissident-support-1-3870183#.T7zPrm9lvik.email
PLEASE PASS THIS ON TO ANY AND ALL IRISH AMERICAN ORGANIZATIONS WHO MAY BE SENDING FUNDS OVER TO THE UNIONISTS.
Thank you.
Helen McClafferty
Chairperson – USA
Free Gerry McGeough Campaign
www.freegerry.com
Posted by Jim on May 21, 2012
Professor Phil Scraton of Queen’s and Dr. Linda Moore of the University of Ulster are the authors of a number of reports on prison conditions in the North, including the shocking report three years ago on the incidence of suicide in Maghaberry. Their reports constitute the main body of official research on prison conditions here.
The pair visited Ms. Price at Hydebank last month and have spoken with the Price family and with the women’s governor of the prison.
In their letter to Ford they say that, “Marian Price has been imprisoned…without trial in circumstances which may amount to administrative internment and which we believe to be in breach of the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms(ECHR) Article 5 guaranteeing the right to liberty and security of the person…We are profoundly concerned about the conditions and regime under which she is imprisoned in Hydebank Wood and their impact on her deteriorating health and well-being.”
In relation to women’s imprisonment in North generally, they refer to “the inappropriate placement of the women’s unit within a male young offender centre (and) the imposition of less-than-equal treatment on women in prison in NI; restricted movement for women within the site; poor industrial relations; lengthy lock-downs; distant and sometimes hostile staff attitudes to prisoners; limited opportunities for education, training and other activities for women; inadequate healthcare facilities; over-use of strip-searching and isolation.”
Turning to the Price case specifically, they say that “(her)particular situation raises further concerns given that she is detained in isolation, in recognition of her status as a separated prisoner…We consider that her health and well-being are threatened significantly by the conditions under which she is held. We understand that the Healthcare Unit cell to which she was assigned on arrival had mould on its walls/ ceiling, and that she lived-in the cell during the time when it was being cleaned. There is a tannoy near Marian’s cell causing considerable distress and disruption through constant announcements of no relevance to her. We experienced the constant use of the tannoy throughout our visit. It is both loud and oppressive…
“Most of her time is spent in isolation, thus threatening her mental and emotional health. In 2011 the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, Juan Mendez called for an absolute prohibition of solitary confinement for a period over 15 days, on the grounds that it constitutes not only a threat to health, but also that it can amount to torture, inhuman and degrading treatment. Marian Price has endured much longer than this in isolation, and her health has suffered as a consequence….
“Further, there are times when Marian is observed exclusively by male staff. For these reasons, and given the concerns expressed locally and internationally regarding Marian Price’s continued detention and declining health, we urge you release her on humanitarian grounds. At the very least she should be in a hospital in the community, rather than in Hydebank Wood.”
This plea from the two criminologists with the most extensive experience of the North’s prison system is confirmation that calls for Ms. Price’s release come from a far wider range of interests that supporters of her politics or from political activists generally.
The next few weeks will see the extension of the campaign to Britain and the US, organised through the Prisons Crisis Group. Paddy Hill of the Birmingham Six and Bernadette McAliskey will join a representative of the local Muslim community at a rally in Glasgow. Former Guantanamo Bay prisoner Moazzam Begg will focus on Marian’s case at a meeting in London on the theme, “From Belmarsh to Belfast – Internment Once Again”, drawing attention to the simultaneous imprisonment without trial of Muslims dubbed threats to national security but against whom, as with Marian Price and Martin Corry, no evidence has been presented.
Eamonn McCann
Posted by Jim on May 19, 2012
Three members of Colin Duffy’s family are behind bars today as a major PSNI arrest operation continued across the North of Ireland this weekend.
Brothers Damien (Dee) Duffy, Paul Duffy, and their cousin Shane Duffy were all arrested in Lurgan, County Armagh on Friday and presented with a variety of ‘terrorist’ charges at Lisburn Magistrates’ Court this morning. They have been held without bail.
Lawyer Joe McVeigh told the court that the Duffy family “are subject to persecution by the police and they want that ventilated”.
He said: “They feel that they’re being persecuted and one would not have to stray very far from recent events to find a reason why that persecution would be happening.”
Colin Duffy, a lifelong republican activist, spent two years on remand as a protesting prisoner at Maghaberry jail before he was finally cleared earlier this year of involvement in the 2009 IRA attack on Massareene British Army base.
A notorious target of PSNI harassment, Colin has been the subject of a number of false arrests as well a miscarriage of justice. His brother Paul, who served as the family’s spokesperson in the campaign for his release, was also hte victim of state persecution during the family’s campaign to free Colin.
Serious questions were raised regarding the nature of the searches conducted at two of the men’s houses and a subsequent police press release.
Mr McVeigh revealed that during the searches, conducted at 5am, the PSNI video-recorded the families’ children and even interrogated them on camera in what was described as a “degrading” exercise.
Mr McVeigh asked the PSNI if they would give an “undertaking in a verifiable way” that the videos would be deleted. The PSNI member said he was unsure “if it can be done” but said he would request their deletion.
On Friday, a police spokesperson released a statement that the men had been charged following a PSNI-led investigation having worked closely “with colleagues in the security services”.
Mr McVeigh repeatedly asked which branch of the secret services had been involved, and what their role had been, but the PSNI admitted in court they did not know the answer to either question.
In Omagh, three men and a woman also appeared in court and charged with a series of offences.
The ‘Family and Friends of Republican Prisoners, Maghaberry’ said the arrests across the North this week have focussed on relatives and supporters of republican prisoners.
The arrest operation was described as “another example of the State’s attitude to republicans who dare to stand up for the rights of political prisoners.”