Police raids on The Blanket and activists in Belfast

national | miscellaneous | press release

Sunday July 06, 2003 21:33

by Mags

Raid on 'The Blanket'magazine
Raids on Activists involved in pro POW campaign in Belfast

Raid on 'The Blanket'magazine
Raids on Activists involved in pro POW campaign in Belfast

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The Blanket
A journal of protest and dissent
http://lark.phoblacht.net

Raid at McIntyre Home * July 6, 2003

On the evening of Friday, July 4th, in a large security operation involving
33 jeeps and over a hundred officers, the home of Anthony and Carrie McIntyre
was raided by the PSNI. 4 search teams spent almost 3 hours in their home,
confiscating computer equipment, a digital camera, mobile phones. The raid
was related to their reporting of the protest at Dundonald House on Wednesday,
2 July. The Blanket will resume full publication as soon as possible.

See also:
Protest at Dundonald House
http://lark.phoblacht.net/dundonaldprotest.html

Dundonald House Protest (Photos)
http://lark.phoblacht.net/photos.html

***************************

IRISH FREEDOM COMMITTEE® NEWSLIST
www.irishfreedomcommittee.net
-----------------------------

Date: 04 07 03

At 9:00 PM tonight Belfast time, homes across Belfast were raided for
the second time in two weeks. Phones, protest posters, cameras and
computer equipment was taken from the homes of prisoner's rights
activists and also from the home of two journalists at the Blanket.

Police came to Marian Price's home for the second time this week,
this time to seize mobile phones and telephone books. Three days
before, her computer equipment was removed from her home.
Seventy-one professionally printed posters for a protest set for this
weekend outside Maghaberry Prison were also seized from her car.

At the same time, police raided the home of Blanket journalists
Anthony McIntyre and Carrie Twomey and removed all of their computer
equipment, cameras, and cell phones from their home.

Marian Price told us that it appears there are "no computers anymore
in Belfast". Price said that effectively "all lines of communication
are down" in Belfast and the timing of these raids is clearly no
accident. There appears to be a concerted effort at work to silence
the support network that has been actively drawing attention to the
crisis situation at Maghaberry prison, as the situation inside has
taken what many feel may quickly become a deadly turn.

Many inaccuracies have been reported in the media, including that
recent protests at Maghaberry have been held in response to
"overcrowding", and that loyalists and republicans protested together
on last week's overnight rooftop protest. According to Marian Price
"there were no republicans on the rooftop protest" and in fact all
were loyalist.

However two republican remand prisoners are now on a dirty protest at
Maghaberry Prison in response to the prison's increasingly repressive
and inhumane policies, a number of which are in direct violation of
European laws on Human Rights.

An effort was made last week by the prison to house a remand
republican prisoner doubled up in the same cell with known loyalist
Mo Courtney. The republican prisoner refused out of concern for the
safety of his life and was then viciously beaten by prison guards and
put onto the punishment blocks, where he remains yet. Riots followed
in the remand prisoners quarters, and wash-hand stations and toilets
wrecked in the riots were not replaced. Two remand prisoners have
subsequently gone onto dirty protest.

The prison next put all sentenced republican prisoners on lockdown
and fed them through slots in the doors. When the republican
prisoners refused to be fed this way like animals a protest ensued,
and a number of prisoners, including Republican OC James Connolly,
refused food for the duration of the lockdown from Friday to Sunday.

Connolly made an application to the prison governor to be allowed in
to the remand house to speak with the republican prisoners there to
negotiate a settlement to help bring the situation inside to a
peaceful close. All efforts by Connolly to do this were rebuffed by
the prison and Connolly has now said that "all negotiations are now
off".

The demand for a separate wing for republican prisoners is paramount
and Marian Price has told us that the men are "very determined, and
very united" on this. The terrible possibility looms large that
events may soon take a deadly turn with several of the men having
firmly said that hunger strike has not been ruled out.

This situation can be very easily resolved by the prison granting
republican prisoners a WING OF THEIR OWN. Safety concerns have never
been higher with the prison no longer just housing lone republican
prisoners on loyalist paramilitary landings, but now housing them
together IN THE SAME CELLS. The prison has shown it is not concerned
in the slightest for the safety of republican prisoners, as had it
any concern whatsoever it would never attempt to make such
deliberately life-threatening housing arrangements.

The republican prisoners demands must be met immediately. Please
write, phone, email or fax the Northern Ireland Prison Service and
the Northern Ireland Office and let them know Irish America will not
stand idly by as another unnecessary tragedy befalls Irish Republican
Political Prisoners in British jails. Demand that the prison
immediately grant the republican prisoners their FOUR DEMANDS:

1. Immediate segregation
2. Group representation
3. The right to elect a spokesperson for each republican group
4. The provision of a separate wing

Please don't delay - every voice counts!!!

Links to a suggested letter and addresses follows below.

We will post further updates on the situation in Belfast as we get them.

The Irish Freedom Committee®
www.irishfreedomcommittee.net

************************************************
NORTHERN IRELAND OFFICE

Mr. Paul Murphy - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
Block B
Castle Buildings
Belfast BT4 3STGTN
Phone: 440 02890 520 700 (24 hours)
Fax: 02890 528473/528478/528482
Email: press.nio@nics.gov.uk

-----------------

NORTHERN IRELAND PRISON SERVICE
Room 321
Prison Service Headquarters
Dundonald House
Upper Newtownards Road
BELFAST BT4 3SU
E-Mail: info@niprisonservice.gov.uk
Phone: 028 9052 5065 - (General Enquiry Line)

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Comments (2 of 2)

Hardly surprising .....

by the cynic

Sun Jul 06, 2003 23:32

Sure that's what the police are there for ....

It's a lot easier that investigating stuff like the Pat Finucane murder ....

Stop the lies and intimidation of the establishment

by agitated

Mon Jul 07, 2003 03:45

These raids and attempt at qwelling the support for those republican prisoners still currently imprisoned is yet another attack on a person's right of freedom of speech and expression.
This censorship activity seems to be the favourite establishment action of the month as it was only recently that others locally and internationally where attemtping to silence, demonise and condemn the voices within " The Blanket " and subsequent "Irish Echo" journalists who where critical of other's journalistic integrity surrounding the 'stakeknife affair'.

Those who value democracy should be condemning these raids and all actions that are used to intimidate those who are educating others and supporting republican prisoners.

ALthough I may not agree with the actions that lead these young men to a gaol cell - I however believe as fellow human beings that they deserve the basic human rights they are entitled to and that is not currently happening in Maghaberry Prison. To explain this situation further read the following link with letters from those currently imprisoned.

http://lark.phoblacht.net/lettersfromrps.html

For generations republican prisoners have been supported by their communities. Now that our political situation has changed those who find themselves imprisoned for political reasons are demonised not just by the British and Irish Establishments but by those who spent long periods of time imprisoned for exactly the same reasons.

Should those who are highlighting the detoriating situation within Maghaberry prison have their houses searched and belongings confiscated for an unlimited timeframe?
If the establishment has nothing to hide in regards to treatment and conditions of prisoners currently their responsibility - why are such extreme actions being taken?
Are people willing to sit back and allow this attack on a people's rights to take place?

"First they came for republicans and i did not speak out because i was not a republican - then they came for the writers but i did not speak out because i was not a writer - then they came for the supporting activists but i did not speak out because i was not an supporting activist - then they came for me and there was no one else left to speak out for me"

If we allow 'them' to curtail what they wish we are never going to achieve the world we want.

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Police raids on The Blanket and activists in Belfast

Comments (2 of 2)