Roe 4 Republican Prisoners Clarification On Recent Events In Maghaberry.

Via the IRPWA a statement from Roe 4 Republican Prisoners clarifying some issues recently subject to media discussion.

Roe 4 Republican Prisoners clarification on recent events in Maghaberry.
Imprisoned In Maghaberry


Republican Prisoners wish to clarify several points which have arisen in the media over the past number of weeks.  It is obvious that we, as Prisoners, played no role in the recent attack on the 6 County Prison Service.  The situation has been used however to demonise and attack us.  Within a week of the attack Republican Prisoners were subjected to a lock-down for almost 48 hours. During which we were verbally abused, our living space was turned upside down, our educational resources were removed and two men were forcibly strip-searched. 

Days later, when Republican Prisoners encountered the Governors responsible for this lock-down and made clear that it had not, as intended, intimidated us into silence; we were accused, falsely, of gloating and celebrating.  Indeed, this line was pushed by former republicans who have seemingly forgotten the spurious allegations of  taunts directed at screws in the H-Blocks each time one of their number was executed.

This was not the only lie carried by the media; the deceitful Director General, Sue McAllister, was keen to manipulate an emotive situation by claiming that the repressive regime in Republican Roe House existed due to threats on the landings. In Republican Roe House there are less alleged threats than elsewhere in the Jail, and only a fraction of the so called disciplinary procedures and discipline alarms compared to the rest of the Jail, no guilty verdicts ever for a threat and there has never been  a violent assault by Republican Prisoners against Jailers.

Yet despite all this, controlled movement exists only on the Republican Wing.  Sue also made claims that strip-searching now seldom occurred. Yet strip-searching has been used within the Jail on countless occasions in the past year alone against Republican Prisoners. This further highlights the irony of media comments alleging that Republican Prisoners were sub-human and deranged: Anyone seeking to witness genuine inhumanity would only need to see an arbitrary forced strip-search being carried out by the heroic Jailers in Maghaberry: The worst Jail In Europe.

Finally, the following facts should be heeded closely:
  • Republican Prisoners have engaged with countless individuals and organisations including Churchmen, Politicians, Community and Trade Union Figures, none of whom have stated that our position is unreasonable.
  • The regime in Republican Roe House has been criticised in 2006, 2009 and 2015 by the HMIP/CJINI, in 2011 by the Anne Owers’ Prison Review Team and by consecutive Prisoner Ombudsmen and a host of others.
  • Republican Prisoners have engaged in countless processes to attain a resolution including the August 2010 Agreement which was reneged on by the Jail Administration (as recognised in the 2013 Ombudsman Report). The 2014 Stock-take and 2015 ICRC process, all of which were scuppered and sabotaged by elements within the 6 County Prison Service.
Republican Prisoners seek only that the Administration abide by the August 2010 Agreement and countless aforementioned reports this would bring about the resolution which has been long sought.

Republican Prisoners,
Roe 4,
Maghaberry
24/03/16 

1 comment:

  1. Nice one AM. If even 1% of the Easter backslappers paid heed to things like this, it would make a difference to those imprisoned for upholding the proclamations ideals.

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