Category Archives: FREE MARIAN PRICE
RELEASE MARIAN PRICE ENOUGH IS ENOUGH LET HER TORTURE END
HARK:Northern Ireland Human Rights Initiative
Bernadette Devlin McAliskey, veteran Irish civil rights leader, said in response to the case of Irish republican Marian Price, who was returned to jail in 2011: “It is a clear signal to everyone who is not ‘on board’ and who is not of the same mind as the government that no dissent will be tolerated.
“No dissent will be tolerated and you challenge the status quo at your peril.”.
Marian Price, 59, is a long-time Irish republican activist and ex-Irish Republican Army volunteer. She was given two life sentences over bomb blasts in London in March 1973 that targeted a British army recruitment centre and Old Bailey courts. Price was one of nine republicans sentenced, including her sister Dolours and Gerry Kelly, who is now Sinn Fein MLA for North Belfast.
Price was given a “royal pardon” in 1980 and left prison suffering from poor health and weighing only five stone. The Price sisters had spent 200 days on hunger strike demanding to be transferred to a jail in Ireland’s north, where republican prisoners had political status.
They were both forcibly restrained and force-fed three times a day over the last 167 days of the hunger strike.
Despite her health issues and prolonged jailing, Price remained politically active after her release. Her outspoken criticism of British rule caused problems for the British administration, who had probably hoped she would quietly fade from the political scene.
Price’s continued activism and vocal support for republicanism kept her under scrutiny and made her a target for British security services.
Jailed on orders of government official
Price was returned to prison in 2011, not on the basis of fresh evidence or any new offence. Rather, then-British Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Owen Paterson ordered her detention and charged her with encouraging support for an illegal organisation.
The basis of this charge is that Price attended a 1916 Easter Rising Commemoration held in Derry; one of many held by Irish republicans each year. At the event, Price held up a piece of paper for a masked man from the 32-County Sovereignty Movement as he read out a message.
Three days later, Price was arrested. She was then granted bail, but arrested again after she left the court on Paterson’s orders.
This time, the reason was based on secret information from the British intelligence services, which claims the evidence cannot be revealed due to national security concerns.
Later, Price was also charged with “providing property for the purposes of terrorism”; this allegedly related to her purchase of a phone, which authorities “think” was later used by attackers who killed two soldiers in 2009.
Price’s supporters believe this is merely an attempt by the British authorities to link her with a crime. No evidence or connection to the incident was produced and she was again granted bail by the court.
Yet Price remains in prison due to Paterson’s order.
Price’s real transgression seems to be her critical remarks about conditions in the six Irish counties still claimed by Britain, and of the Good Friday Agreement that lead to the power-sharing arrangement between Sinn Fein and parties that support British rule in the north.
Solitary confinement
After her arrest, Price was held in solitary confinement in the all-male Maghaberry high security prison for more than nine months, despite not being convicted of any crime.
Then in February last year, Price was taken to Hydebank Women’s Prison where she served another nine months in solitary confinement.
In May last year, the so-called charges involving the Easter Commemoration incident were thrown out of court by a judge. Still Price remained in prison as her mental and physical health rapidly deteriorated.
Then in June, by now seriously ill, she was transferred to a secure ward at Belfast hospital.
The European Court and former Commission on Human Rights, as well as the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT), have said the use of solitary confinement can be classified as torture, depending on the circumstances.
The CPT has also said that solitary confinement “can amount to inhuman and degrading treatment” and has on several occasions criticised such practices. It has recommended reforms such as abandoning specific regimes, limiting the use of solitary confinement to exceptional circumstances, and/or securing inmates a higher level of social contact.
Furthermore, the revised European Prison Rules of 2006 have clearly stated that solitary confinement should be an exceptional measure and, when used, should be for as short a time as possible.
The Inter-American Court of Human Rights has also stated that prolonged solitary confinement constitutes a form of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment prohibited under Article 5 of the American Convention on Human Rights.
The UN’s lead investigator on torture, Juan Mendez, has called for governments to end the use of long spells of solitary confinement in prison. Mendez said such isolation could cause serious mental and physical damage and amounted to torture.
He further said that short term isolation was permissible only for prisoner protection, but all solitary confinement longer than 15 days should be banned.
Support for Price
In a joint statement in November last year appealing to US officials visiting Ireland to support calls for the release of Price, Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams and Sinn Fein deputy first minister of the Northern Ireland Executive Martin McGuinness said: “[Price's treatment is a] serious case of injustice and denial of human rights and judicial rights in the north of Ireland.
“We believe that her detention is unjust and runs contrary to the principles of natural justice. We believe very strongly that Marian Price McGlinchey should be released.
“ Her human rights have been breached. She has been denied justice and due process. She is seriously ill. Her detention undermines the justice system and the political process.
“She clearly presents no threat to anyone.”
The campaign to release Price has encompassed a diverse range of people and political, social and community organisations across Ireland and elsewhere. Calls for her freedom have been backed by the two parliamentary nationalist parties in the north, Sinn Fein and the Social Democratic Labour Party (SDLP).
Adams called for Marian’s release in November, January and again in March. McGuinness has also appealed several times for her release, most recently at Sinn Fein’s Ard Fheis (congress). He also attended and gave evidence at the Parole Commissioners hearing a short time ago.
SDLP leader Alistair McDonnell called for her release on March 30. SDLP MLA Pat Ramsey has been a vocal supporter of the release of Price, as has Lisburn independent councillor Angela Nelson.
The campaign is also supported by a wide range of republican and national groups, including the 32 County Sovereignty Movement (of which Price is a member), Irish Republican Socialist Party, Republican Network for Unity, Eirigi, Republican Sinn Fein, Irish Freedom Committee, Friends of Irish Freedom, the Celtic League, the United Celtic Brotherhood and the 1916 Societies.
Calls for Price’s freedom have also come from Dublin City Council, Fermanagh Council, Dungannon Council, Galway Council, Derry Council, Sligo Council and Omagh Council.
Among other groups calling for Price’s release are the Scottish Republican Socialist Party and Human Rights Watch UK.
Justice
Devlin McAliskey said: “I think what is very important for people to recognise that what is happening to Marian is not an isolated case. While it’s happening here in Northern Ireland and we have had to call upon the UN Rapporteur for Health to exercise his authority to examine it … [it relfects] the arrogance [of] many of the Western powers …
“I think Marian’s case is symptomatic of those things we see every day … That people can still be imprisoned without due process and that many countries, particularly in the very powerful Western alliances, feel that UN resolutions and UN protections are for protecting them from their enemies, but not people from powerful states.
“Marian’s case is not just something peculiar to the Northern Ireland situation. The increasing confidence with which fundamental human rights and due process and protections are being ignored ― I think is frightening.”
The treatment of Price amounts to a return to the bad days of interment without trial, enforced by the British on the nationalist community in Ireland’s north in the early 1970s.
Price is being held purely because of her views and criticisms. She is being selectively targeted because she refuses to remain silent in the face of British coercion and repression.
The British justice system’s mistreatment of Price has again exposed it as the disgraceful, hypocritical and discriminatory structure that it is, a fact that Irish people have experienced throughout the colonial occupation of Ireland.
Price’s case reveals the contempt the British judicial system has for genuine fairness and due process.
Twice she was granted bail by judges, only to be rearrested due to orders signed by the Northern Ireland secretary of state. Price has been illegally imprisoned. The lack of a genuine case against Price and her jailing without due process is a travesty that must be remedied by her unconditional freedom.
Price’s human rights are being grossly violated by her long-term incarceration. She is effectively detained without trial, sentence or release date. This means she could be held for an indefinite time, an illegitimate procedure that allows the British administration to hold her for the rest of her life if it so desires.
On the basis of compassion, legal, civil and political rights, and those of common sense, Price should be released immediately.
Related articles
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- Does Amnesty Practice Political Vetting ? (seachranaidhe1.wordpress.com)
- Smash Internment Free Marian Price (seachranaidhe1.wordpress.com)
- ‘Union Members Deeply Unhappy’ at Price Motion (seachranaidhe1.wordpress.com)
- The Continued Imprisonment of Marian Price (kclsoc.wordpress.com)
- Martin McGuinness: “a lack of cohesion between Unionist and Republican Ministers … frankly this isn’t good enough” (sluggerotoole.com)
‘UNION MEMBERS DEEPLY UNHAPPY’ AT PRICE MOTION
‘This type of motion can only cause division and is the last thing Nipsa needs - Ross Hussey.
A MOTION calling for the release of prominent republican Marian Price due to come before the Nipsa conference has been criticised by the UUP. West Tyrone MLA and policing board member Ross Hussey said he had been contacted by Nipsa members who were “deeply unhappy” at the motion.
Mr Hussey described it as a “deeply regrettable situation” which could “cause decision”. “I have been contacted by a number of Nipsa members who are deeply unhappy at Motion No 13 in the conference handbook which states ‘Conference demands the immediate release of Marian Price’. “The motion goes on to call for the Nipsa general council ‘to campaign for the immediate release of Marian Price on humanitarian grounds’. “This is deeply regrettable situation. Nipsa is a highly respected trade union which draws its members from right across the province and from all sections of our society. “This type of motion can only cause division and is the last thing which Nipsa needs.” Then secretary of state Owen Paterson revoked her life sentence licence at Easter 2011 after Price was charged over a dissident republican rally in Derry. She is also facing seperate charges of providing a mobile phone for a terrorist purpose in March 2009 shortly before two soldiers were shot dead at Massereene barracks. The 58-year-old has been receiving treatment for depression, arthritis and lung problems, while kept in hospital under armed guard.
With many thanks to : Maeve Connolly, Irish News.
This letter also appeared in the Irish News today Friday May 17 2013.
Two years incarceration and still no justice for Marian.
THIS week marks the entry into the third year Marian Price is interned without trial and is incarcerated on the word of a British Secretary of State. Where is the justice in this maltreatment of a defenceless woman whose health has deterioted to a level thatt she is almost unable to function as a person? Her incarceration in solitary confinement is responsible for this deterioration – firstly in Maghaberry, then Hydebank and now in hospital. Health professionals have revealed home care packages to treat Marian in a humane way and to date the British government has refused to grant her that humanity.
The long, drawn.out process in recent times still has not revealed an outcome. Fifteen years on from signing of the British agreement the treatment of Marian Price and others exposes that the injustice suffered at the hands of the British establishment hasn’t gone away. The analysis of the Irish people throughout our history that there is no British justice in Ireland is epitomised again with this deliberate maltreatment. Marian Price should be released immediately on humanitarian grounds due tonton the state of her health but she should also be released as a right because the spurious charges against her are not proven and innocent until proven guilty has gone out the door. Marian Price is serving a sentence of inhumane treatment for the past two years and yet is not sentenced to a single day in jail. Where is the justice ?
With many thanks to : Francis Mackey, Omagh, Co Tyrone.
Related articles
- Trade union in Marian Price row (newsletter.co.uk)
- Smash Internment Free Marian Price (seachranaidhe1.wordpress.com)
- Does Amnesty Practice Political Vetting ? (seachranaidhe1.wordpress.com)
- 10,000 people expected at anti-hunger rally in Belfast on the eve of the G8 summit (belfasttelegraph.co.uk)
- British Interests Best Served by Present Arrangements ! (seachranaidhe1.wordpress.com)
- The Continued Imprisonment of Marian Price (kclsoc.wordpress.com)
- Enda Kenny to raise peace process concerns (irishtimes.com)
SMASH INTERNMENT FREE MARIAN PRICE
Paul Mckee
2 years ago today, Marian Price was taken by the RUC on spurious charges, and immediately put into solitary confinement in MagHaberry gaol.. Her health declined and when she made bail, the British government stepped in and played their trump card of Interning her having first made sure evidence was destroyed. 2 years and still no justice, people through out the world are still demanding answers. FREE MARIAN PRICE —
DOES AMNESTY PRACTICE POLITICAL VETTING ?
This letter appeared in the Irish News yesterday May 6 2013
MR CORRIGAN of Belfast’s Amnesty international office attempts to defend Amnesy’s stance in relation to political prisoners in his own jurisdiction (April 26).
Marian Price‘s case has been raised and made known by individual human rights activists and by the efforts of her family. I would very much doubt that the public are aware of Amnesty’s stance on the imprisonment of Marian Price, or the ever-increasing number of political prisoners being held on the direct orders of the Northern Ireland Secretary of State, in spite of being granted bail or their freedom by the courts in the North of Ireland. Amnesty say they “have responded to queries” regarding Marian Price’s case. Strangely, when the Russian women involved in the Pussy Riot case were arrested, Amnesty were able to immediately launch a public campaign calling for the women’s release, throwing the full weight of their organisation behind the case. None of the women involved were elderly or sick, and whatever the merits of the case, they have a release date and are not being held indefinitely.
The only conclusion that can be drawn is that Amnesty International practise political vetting. They only publicise and call for the release of prisoners who are friendly to the Anglo-American power-bloc. When Sean MacBride and others founded Amnesty International in Ireland in 1963 they could never have envisaged the use of political vetting when supporting political prisoners. A mark of civilised society is how you treat your enemies, not your friends. Perhaps it is not to late for Amnesty international to redeem itself. Could the organisation call for the release of Marian Price and other Irish detainees, as they did for the women in Russia ?
With many thanks to : Mark Duggan, Dublin.
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DUP CLAIMS OF JUDICIAL BIAS NOT SUPPORTED BY CUSTODY FIGURES
ONLY 20 OUT OF 215 ARRESTED DURING UNION FLAG
DISTURBANCES BELIEVED
TO BE BEHIND BARS
S
LITTLEh. more than 20 Union Flag protesters are on r:-) emand in prison despite claims by the DUP first minister and his senior party colleagues of discrimination against loyalists. majorityhe 215 people arrested since the protests started in early Deceinfluence only about 20 were on Tuesday on remand in Maghaberry Prison. Nevertheless DUP ministers have accused police and the courts of bias. On Tuesday police confirmed that 163 people have been charged as part of the Operation Dulcet investigation. These include offences from rioting and hijacking of vehicles to attacks on politicians ‘ offices.
DUP leader Peter Robinson, raised questions of ” IMPARTIALITY ” in how loyalists are dealt with. This promoted a row between his party and the judiciary. Sir Declan Morgan gave his first interview as lord chief justice to dismiss the claims and criticise finance minister Sammy Wilson for accusing judges of ” ARROGANCE “. On Tuesday police issued fresh images of 13 people suspected of taking part in violence linked to the Union Flag protests between December 3 and January 5.
DUP leader Peter Robinson raised questions of ” IMPARTIALITY ” by the courts when dealing with loyalist bail applications. This prompted Lord Chief Justice Declan Morgan’s private secretary to write to the DUP justice committee chairman Paul Given saying judges must make decisions ” INDEPENDENTLY and without being subject to external influence “. In refusing protest organiser Jamie Bryson bail, Justice Bernard McCloskey said ” ill informed debate ” creates misunderstanding around the criteria for bail applications.
DUP finance minister Sammy Wilson responded by accusing judges of ” ARROGANCE “. He said they were like ” CIVIL SERVANTS ” who should be held to account. Although high-profile demonstration organisers Willie Frazer and Mr Bryson have been remanded in custody, the vast majority of protesters have been released on bail, albeit in some cases with strict restrictions. Among them were two men and a woman arrested in connection with disturbances outside the Shore Road ground of Crusaders Football Club that prevented a top-of-the-league clash with North Belfast rivals Cliftonville last month. They were bailed at Belfast Magistrates Court.High profile protester Jim Dowson (48), a former (BNP) British National Party fundraiser originally from Scotland but now residing in Comber, Co Down, was bailed after appearing in court charged with encouraging or assisting offenders and five counts of taking part in an unnotified public procession. Former soldier Mark Winter, who posed as a member of the media to get close to police lines and allegedly verbally abused officers, was also bailed at Newtownards Magistrates Court on condition that he maintain a strict curfew and does not come within 500 metres of a parade, protest or demonstration. The 42-year-old was also granted reporting restrictions preventing his address being published.
The majority of those bailed have been banned from attending further protests and using social-networking sites. Several others bailed by the High Court have had strict conditions imposed. One man charged in connection with serious disorder in Newtownabbey was bailed on condition that he reside at an address in Scotland. There are believed to be just more than 20 people still on remand in Maghaberry Prison in relation to the protests. However, that figure fluctuates weekly as further arrests are made and bail applications are heard.
with many thanks to : Allison Morris, Irish News
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