Irish prisoners in British gaol By Gerry Adams MP

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A CONSTANT stream of letters from Irish political prisoners held in English prisons, supplemented by contact with their relatives, and despite the continuation of the Home Office ban on visits to these prisoners by myself, provides an accurate picture of their situation and that of their long suffering families.

The most draconian and restricted classification under which a prisoner can be held is Category 'A'. Of the 40,000 prisoners in English jails, 300 are in this category. Almost a quarter of these are Irish political prisoners.

Despite being subject to this rigins and prilege offered WALLIN the to other prisoners, Irish PoWs bear the brunt of individual acts of. vindictiveness by prison administrations.

For example, Roy Walsh, who is in Winson Green, Birmingham, is only permitted to attend the same Mass as other prisoners if he is handcuffed during the entire service.

Ronnie McCartney, who is held in Parkhurst, is denied the right to have his fiancee's father and mother visit him, in spite of the fact that his own parents are dead and Ronnie has named these people as his next of kin.

Rule 43 (Good Order and Discipline) of the prison authorities' standing orders is widely practised, for punitive reasons, against Irish prisoners. This regulation allows the authorities, without notice or explanation, to move a prisoner from a 'high security prison' , where most Irish prisoners, are held in special control units, to what is termed a local prison' for an indefinite period.

Prisoners are then housed in total isolation and locked up 23 hours a day. Cell lights are kept on throughout the hours of darkness, constant visual checks are made every 15 minutes, with the accompaniment of a great deal of noise, day and night, and a warder sits outside the cell door at all times.

Although the Irish PoWs' burden is indeed a heavy one, a constant theme in all correspondence is the repeated expression of deep concern for their relatives outside the prison walls.

This concern is entirely justified, given the particular sense of isolation suffered by their relatives *ho are forced to make long. lonely and expensive trips to English jails, in many instances accompanied by young children. Even the journeys on the prisoners' welfare bus to the six county prisoners provide at least a sertse of common suffering and comradeship.

Many prisoners have expressed grave anxiety about the vulnerability of their relatives travelling to England, which is understandable given the operation of the racist PTA.

Not only is there a fear that relatives might be arrested, but there are real possibilities that they may be falsely charged.

The tragic case of Guiseppe Conlon illustrates this well.

He was arrested when he went to visit his son, Gerard, and after years of protesting his innocence, he died in an English prison. There is also the case of Brian Keenan's wife, Chrissie, who spent six months on remand in Brixton Prison, depriving their young family in Belfast of both parents.

A visit, bringing with it the prospect of seeing loved ones again, should be a source of comfort for both a prisoner and their family. Instead, in the case of Irish PoWs, it is a source of tremendous strain and for many, especially the elderly and those with a young family, it is a major ordeal.

The Home Office's obstinate refusal to repatriate Irish prisoners is clearly intended to have these effects and is in flagrant contradiction of their own stated policies.

The immediate transfer to an English prison of the British soldier who gunned down young Thomas 'Kidso' Reilly to ensure that family visits could 'more easily be accommodated' is an illustration of this political double-think.

The Irish prisoners in English jails have five very reasonable demands:

1. The release of Paddy Hackett on medical grounds.

2. The release of prisoners framed by the British police.

3. An end to solitary confinement and special control units.

4. The abolition of the PTA.

5. Repatriation of prisoners to Ireland on request.

The fact that the British government have totally ignored these demands makes it obvious that they not only inflict the full rigours of their barbaric prison system on Irish prisoners but are deliberately inflicting suffering on totally innocent families.

from 'An Phoblacht' ari antise