Free John Brady Now!
*(in the interest of international prisoner solidarity, please read, support and distribute the following info - crit solidari internacional amb els/les empresonats/des, si us plau llegeix i distribueix la seguent info - grito solidario internacional con l@s pres@s, por favor leer y distribuir la siguiente info).
Free John Brady Campaign
John Brady is a political hostage from Strabane (County Tyrone, Ireland) who has been detained since June 2004 with no charges pending against him other than on the orders of the (then) secretary of state Paul Murphy. His legal team expected him to be released at the beginning of September 2005 after a successful application was made to the sentence review board, and supported by Fr. Denis Faul.
He was rearrested in November 2003 and charged with possession of weapons, allegations that John has strenuously denied since his incarceration. The charges against John and his co accused were dropped, but John was returned to prison in 2004.
The reason for John’s return was "damaging information", to date John or his Legal team have been unable to define what this statement means, but they are well aware of the impact that it is having on John. In the absence of any other explanation, we can only conclude, that John’s continued incarceration is nothing more than an organised campaign of selective internment.
On Thursday 1st of September John was taken from his prison cell in Maghaberry Goal to Antrim road RUC interrogation centre. John was later charged with the attempted murder of a Royal Irish Regiment soldier in Sion Mills in 2002.
The evidence against John is of a DNA nature and because of the length of time and the fact that John had been questioned and released regarding this incident; they are considering taking a case of abuse of process.
This case and a number of cases which have collapsed over the past number of years, bare sticking similarities. Seamus Doherty, who has pledged his support to this campaign, is one such case. We believe that this is another attempt by the British establishment and the RUC to conduct a campaign of selective internment against anyone opposed to the GFA.
We call on people to come out and show their support for this campaign and the unconditional release of John Brady. John Brady today, tomorrow, it could be your son or daughter, we demand this man’s immediate release.
tyrone |
rights, freedoms and repression |
opinion/analysis
Saturday October 01, 2005 21:11
by Free John Brady Now!
freejohnbrady at hotmail dot com
printable version
Digg this
del.icio.us
Furl
Reddit
Technorati
Facebook
Gab
Twitter
View Comments Titles Only
save preference
Comments (15 of 15)
Jump To Comment: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15You can send letters or post cards of support and solidarity to John:
John Brady
Maghaberry Prison
Roe House 3+4, Upper Ballinderry Road,
Lisburn, Co. Antrim,
BT 28 2PT, North of Ireland
johns case in my mind is no different from the persons who were interned during the 70s..selective interment exists.and john is another example of this.what has john brady been charged with?.TRUMPED UP CHARGES TO KEEP THIS MAN IN PRISON AS LONG AS POSSIBLE.this is an injustice to john brady his family and friends and to any right thinking irish man.it has always been the view of the british .that irish men and womens lifes mean nothing..as has been proved by there actions throughout irish history.IS IT ANY DIFFERENT TODAY..NO.johns friends and family have been campaigning for his release .there work has been hampered on many ocasions by persons in the strabane area in the form of pulling down posters and billboards that have been calling for john bradys release this in my opinion is a disgrace.SHAME ON THEM. FREE JOHN BRADY NOW
Why were the initial charges of possesion of weapons dropped? was this a ruse to get him into jail where they could then revoke his license? Both his co accused were released yet John was kept in custody. What became of the weapon that was alleged to have been found in the car and how come nobody was deemed to be responsible for it. A fishy situation in more ways than one.
At the hands of the ruc, John is now free to rest in peace.
He was found dead in strand road barracks under suspicious circumstances.
R.I.P
Listening to the 9.00 a.m and 10 a.m. news this morning - RTE I, the news of the death of a man in police custody in Derry. The man was found dead in his cell at Strand Road police station.
The man was arrested last Friday for an alleged assault and now there is going to be a very sensitive investigation by the Ombudsperson in the North of Ireland.
The man's name was released as Mr. Brady from Stabane in Co. Tyrone. The news also stated he was a former member of the IRA and in recent times had been an alleged member of the dissident group. May he rest in peace.
Could someone clarify for me on the above main posting - if someone has their lines crossed here. We are talking I think about the same Brady but the posting and this mornings news are totally at odds.
Michelle Clarke
John's death has came to a sudden blow to all his family and friends. RIP uncle john, from me and all the Brady family, we will love you forever and you will be in our hearts always. We fought for your justice in life and we will continue to fight for it in your death.
I was saddened to hear of the death of a Republican Volunteer, John Brady, in the custody of the RUC/PSNI. I have no doubt there will be serious repercussions because of his suspicious death in RUC/PSNI custody. Personally, I cannot comprehend why any decent person living in the six counties could possibly support the PSNI/RUC now and say that it has been reformed, when it is blatantly obvious from this suspicious death and many recent reports of harassment and internment that - nothing at all has changed in the six counties. Human rights violations continue for those who openly oppose British rule and nobody with influence and authority to do something about it seems to give a damn.
This is a sad day for Ireland - sad, because another Irish young life has been spent and taken as a consequence of the brutal enforcement of British rule; and sad, because there will never be peace or justice whilst British rule remains, and the majority continue to turn a blind eye to its utterly devastating insidious effects for all.
My heartfelt sympathy to all John Brady’s family, relatives and friends, and to you Megan on the death of your Uncle.
John Brady, suaimhneas síoraí go raibh aige.
“Personally, I cannot comprehend why any decent person living in the six counties could possibly support the PSNI/RUC now”
Right. So whats your alternative then Jacqueline? How do you propose to remove the Ruc/Psni and smoothly transition over to this new method of policing you have to replace them? And it will need to be a smooth transition otherwise the general public (i.e. victims) will suffer. So how do you propose that this is done so that the daily problems such as rapes, murders, child abuse, violent thug, thefts, etc all get dealt with in a timely and appropriate fashion.
You can not comprehend how any decent person living in the six counties can support the police? Well:
a) Its better than having armed thugs running about dispensing justice (shooting people in the legs, arms, heads etc)
b) What choice do we have? People moan and bitch and whine about policing but no-one comes up with an alternative
c) We need some sort of policing in the absence of a police force that will be acceptable to everyone. This moronic idea that some people have that we can just disband the Ruc/Psni and start again from scratch is ludicrous to say the least.
I wonder if you would find it policing in the North so unacceptable if you lived there and you were raped, beaten up, you home was attacked by hoods, etc....
Saddened to hear of the death of John Brady in suspicious circumstances.
My thoughts and prayers are with his family at this sad time.
Nothing has changed - nor will things change - as long as Ireland is occupied
and partitioned. He is not the first to die this way - nor will he be the last.
It depends who did the raping Desmond. As fas as I know Amnesty reported that several women were raped at Castlereagh, before it ws closed forever. Beatings were frequent place here as well. Was this what you are referring to? The only hoods I've seen are them who beat residents of Garvaghy (or alternatively, insert other Nationalist road) Road off the streets for having the temerity to oppose an Orange Order march.
RIP JOHN BRADY
. “As fas (sic) as I know Amnesty reported that several women were raped at Castlereagh” - Damien
This seems like glaring innuendo. Unless you can stand up this it is merely a prejudiced assertion on your part. Nothing more.
You've outdone yourself septic. Perhaps you'd like to comment on the suspicious death of john Brady too septic, instead of scoring points about assertions. So tell me septic, What do you actually think?
If it was a nice fatcat capitalist right wing scumbag politician, the kind you like to apologise and muddy the water for, would you have something to say then? Or a poor israeli soldier in the custody of Hamas perhaps? I bet you'd have plenty more to say about it then. John Brady was a human being septic. Don't you even realise that or are you too far gone?
In many countries policemen use sexual harassment and threats of rape as an interrogation tactic. The interrogators may be after something specific, like information or a signature on a confession, or they may simply want to frighten the victim and other local women. Rose Ann Maguire was arrested in July 1991 in Northern Ireland and held for five days in Castlereagh interrogation centre. During questioning sessions, she was reportedly sexually harassed, physically abused and threatened with death. She said that on one occasion a detective slapped her, pulled her by the hair, fondled her breasts and put his hand between her legs. "They were just trying to degrade you all the time," she said. Rose Ann Maguire was released without charge. At least three other young women interrogated at Castlereagh in 1991 have reported incidents of sexual harassment.
http://asiapacific.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGACT7701...G-BGD
http://209.85.229.132/search?q=cache:-Pfl-lnrS_YJ:www.i...gl=uk
4. Northern Ireland
In the early 1970s the British army used torture in Northern Ireland in response to the growing Republican movement and agitation for Catholic civil rights. Britain introduced internment without trial in the region in August 1971. Internment was designed to crush the Irish Republican Army. But the IRA was expecting it, and most of its operatives avoided the army's net. Hundreds of civilians were picked up and held in detention centres. Of the 342 original internees - all of them Catholics - less than a third had an IRA connection.
Internees were beaten with battens. Some were forced to walk over broken glass in their socks. Many were subjected to sensory deprivation techniques. The Compton official inquiry later acknowledged that the army hooded suspects, fed them on just bread and water and blasted them with noise. The report decided that "in depth" techniques did not contravene "accepted British army procedures".
Ireland subsequently took Britain to the European Court of Human Rights, where it was eventually found guilty in 1978 of ``inhuman and degrading treatment'' of fourteen of the so-called Hooded Men (i). But the torture continued for nearly 30 years. The Castlereagh detention centre was particularly notorious. In 1994 the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhumane or Degrading Treatment or Punishment called for immediate improvements at Castlereagh. In July 1995 the UN Human Rights Committee recommended it should be closed "as a matter of urgency". It was not closed until 1999
In the early 1980s the British government was accused of complicity in political killings of IRA activists. After much public protest, in May 1984 a senior police officer, John Stalker, was asked to investigate the cover-ups. Stalker later alleged that he was obstructed from carrying out a full investigation and that he had discovered evidence of unlawful killings by police. He was removed from duty after being falsely accused of corruption and disciplinary offences. The inquiry was continued by another police officer. In 1988 the attorney general announced that Ulster police had ‘attempted or conspired to pervert the course of justice.’ However, because of ‘national security considerations’, no officer was prosecuted. The inquiry was finally completed by Scotland Yard commissioner, Sir John Stevens in 2003 after fourteen years of investigation. His report concluded that British military and police personnel helped Protestant paramilitaries kill Catholics in Northern Ireland during the Troubles.