Republican Prisoners call for end on censorship!

national | rights and freedoms | press release Saturday July 01, 2006 20:10 by RPAG - Republican Prisoners Action Group

CENSORSHIP OF THE REPUBLICAN PRISON PROTEST AT MAGHABERRY JAIL

Republican prisoners today called on elements of the print and broadcast media to end their self-censorship of the Republican prison protest at Maghaberry jail. Despite widespread distribution of the details of the protest only one of Irelands main daily papers carried any details of the protest.

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CENSORSHIP OF THE REPUBLICAN PRISON PROTEST AT MAGHABERRY JAIL

Statement from Republican Prisoners Action Group (RPAG)

Republican prisoners today called on elements of the print and broadcast media to end their self-censorship of the Republican prison protest at Maghaberry jail. Despite widespread distribution of the details of the protest only one of Irelands main daily papers carried any details of the protest.

Today a special broadcast on Radio Ulster from Magilligan Prison about prison issues also failed to refer to the prison protest.

RPAG has been contacted by a number of individuals claiming to have contacted the programme. After expressing views about the protest they were denied the opportunity to have their views expressed on air.

A spokesperson for the RPAG also contacted the programme to challenge points raised by the British Minister for Prisons. Tony McPhillips, from the group, asked how the Minister could assert that his main policies were aimed solely at protecting the public and rehabilitating criminals when the treatment of Republican prisoners demonstrated that there is a clear anti-Republican political agenda being pursued by the prison authorities.

Tony McPhillips was asked if he would like to put this point directly to the minister and he readily agreed. He was advised that he would be contacted later in the afternoon but he was not.

But Ministers, the prison Ombudsman, numerous prison officers and criminal prisoners were all permitted to express their views on the programme. It appears that decisions are being taken at an editorial level to stop information about the protest from being disseminated.
RPAG calls on all sections of the media to end their silence and begin publishing the daily human rights abuses of Republican prisoners that continue at Maghaberry jail.