Dirty protestors' in legal challenge

Published Monday, 25 July 2011

Two prisoners involved in a dirty protest at Maghaberry Jail have won High Court permission to challenge the denial of legal and family visits.

William Wong and Michael Johnston are seeking to judicially review the ban imposed by prison authorities, which also extends to phone calls and court visits.

Both men are being held in the separated regime in Roe House where dissident republicans have been staging a protest over conditions.

Maghaberry chiefs have stopped their access to visits due to health and safety concerns for staff, other inmates and the public.

Johnston, 28, from the New Lodge, north Belfast is on remand charged with possession of timer power units.

Wong, 22, and formerly of Dalton Close, Armagh, was jailed earlier this month for a minimum five years for having a pipe bomb.

Their lawyers claim the prohibition breaches their rights under the European Convention on Human Rights.

Barrister Sean Devine, for Johnston, argued that the ban on visits was an unprecedented situation.

He said: "This is incommunicado detention in the classic sense.They don't have any meaningful contact with anyone other than their captors."

Tony McGleenan, for the Prison Service, contended that the situation was down to the protestors refusing to wash.

He told the court: "The prisoners themselves can quite simply take a shower, change their clothes and they can have legal visits."

The judge, Mr Justice Weatherup, accepted there may be a serious health risk associated with the protest.

He said the prison authorities were justified in taking protective steps.

But granting leave to seek a judicial review, the judge held that the issue was what measures could be put in place to facilitate contact with legal advisers and family visits.

"The prison authorities have got an obligation to determine whether or not they can offer these facilities on any other terms," he said.

"This they have not yet done. Therefore I propose to grant leave in both cases while that is considered."

With the legal challenge set to be reviewed again later this week, prison authorities are expected to examine what other steps can be taken.

One possible method may involve installing a phone line to be used only by the protestors.

Comments

9 Comments

Guilpin in Earth wrote (300 days ago):

Listen to all the pro-unionist Nazi's with their hateful comments. These same people hammer the Nazi's from a height because of what they did and then act and talk in exactly the same way. It's just as well you people aren't judge and executioner (I left out jury as the north is well aware of Diplock courts) as all the nationalists and Catholics in the north would either be dead or driven out, as in the mid to late 1600's. Did I mention you people are akin to Nazi's? Seig heil!

yas in ards wrote (302 days ago):

i was just wondering if these protesters would like the same conditions as prisoners in russia, china,mexico etc?check out how they live in their jails before you moan about how your being treated, i was wondering also if you had to pay for all your legal bills would you be still using the system?somehow i dont think so. its about time that this crowd caught on that the man in the street has no interest in them.

lets get real in ards wrote (302 days ago):

these two were not forced into jail, so whilst in jail they have to go by prison rules, they are no different from any other prisoner.they chose to live in these conditions and not wash, so let them get on with it, its the usual whinge from these people about their human rights, what about the ordinary man in the street has he no human rights to be protected from people like these?i suppose we will get i support these two prisoners of war?its a disgrace to call these people pows,the real pows did not have three meals per day, the use of showers etc , i think they should read history books and find out how the germans and others treated the real pows, and these inmates moan about how they are being treated, they are a joke.

Gazza in BELFAST wrote (303 days ago):

ITS DISGUSTING WHAT THESE FILTHY PEOPLE ARE AT

Jamesbelfast in Belfast wrote (303 days ago):

I'm all for human rights but they should remember with such rights comes onerous responsibilities - none of which can be taken lightly. It seems to be they pick and choose whatever aspect suits them.

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