Marian Price has been imprisoned in Northern Ireland for more than a year on the basis of secret evidence neither she nor her lawyers have been allowed to see. She is effectively interned without a trial, sentence, or release date. Unless the courts intervene, she will only be released by order of a British Cabinet Minister, Owen Paterson, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.
Overruling the Courts
Twice she has been arrested and brought before a non-jury Diplock Court. Twice a judge ordered her released on bail.
Each time Owen Paterson overruled the judge and ordered her back to prison. He said that he was revoking her license (parole in American terms) because he had “confidential information” against her. This “information” could only have come from MI5.
In May 2011, she was charged with “encouraging support for an illegal organization” after she held up a piece of paper from which a masked man read a statement. Northern Ireland must be one of the very few places where holding up a piece of paper can constitute a crime.
On May 11, 2012, almost exactly a year after these charges were filed, they were dismissed because the British government hadn’t produced any evidence. But Marian Price remains in prison.
In July 2011she was charged with “providing property for the purposes of terrorism”. She was accused of giving a cell phone to someone who participated in the killing of two British soldiers. She had been questioned about this and released 18 months before being charged. Her solicitor, Peter Corrigan, told the BBC that there was no new evidence against her.
Once again she was released on bail, and, again, Owen Paterson said he was revoking her license and ordered her back to prison.
The Vanishing Pardon
But Marian Price and her legal team insist that she was never actually on license. They say that after being convicted of IRA bombings in Britain, she received a full royal pardon (the “Royal Prerogative of Mercy”) when she was freed in 1980 after she appeared to be on the brink of death from severe anorexia nervosa.
The British Government now says the pardon “cannot be located” – that it has been lost or shredded and that no copy exists. Peter Corrigan told a public meeting in Belfast that this is the only time in the entire history of the Royal Prerogative of Mercy that a pardon has gone missing. The veteran Irish human rights campaigner Mgr. Raymond Murray said that “You can draw your own conclusions.”
There is good reason to be concerned about Marian Price’s health and well being. She was unable to appear in court on May11th, even by video link. Prison doctors have said that she should either be in a hospital or home with her family.
She was held in solitary confinement for more than a year. The UN Special Rapporteur on Torture has called for a ban solitary confinement of more than 15 days.
Marian Price’s Health
Marian Price’s health was permanently damaged when she was force fed over 400 times while on hunger strike in a British prison. She described the force feeding in an interview with the Dublin magazine The Village. “Four male prison officers tie you into the chair so tightly with sheets you can’t struggle. You clench your teeth to try to keep your mouth closed but they push a metal spring device around your jaw to prise it open. They force a wooden clamp with a hole in the middle into your mouth. Then, they insert a big rubber tube down that. They hold your head back. You can’t speak or move. You’re frightened you’ll choke to death.”
Marian Price’s husband, Jerry McGlinchey, said in an interview with “Radio Free Eireann” on WBAI, the New York Pacifica station, that he is “very, very worried” about her health. He says she never recovered from the force feeding which caused tuberculosis that had to be treated as recently as 2010. The anorexia has returned and she suffers from such severe arthritis that she can’t even open her hand.
McGlinchey believes that her health will get steadily worse as long as she is in prison. He said that “My fear is that Marian will slip into a deep depression that it would take her years to come out of. I believe that is what the government intends.”
Her prison conditions have contributed to the decline in Marian Price’s health. Male prison guards shine a flashlight in her eyes throughout the night. Protestant prisoners in nearby cells sing anti-Catholic songs at the top of their lungs all night long, making it impossible for her to sleep.
Support for Marian Price
Very few people agree with Marian Price’s politics. She is a “dissident” Irish republican who believes in the necessity of an armed struggle to end British rule. Nevertheless the Irish Congress of Trade Unions and the two major nationalist parties in Northern Ireland, Sinn Fein and the Social Democratic and Labor Party, have all called for her release.
But what is at stake is more than Marian Price or her politics. The Irish civil rights leader Bernadette Devlin McAliskey has said that her treatmenrt, “Is a clear signal to everybody who is not “on board” and who is not of the same mind as the government: that no dissent will be tolerated. No dissent will be tolerated and you challenge the status quo at your peril.”
Sandy Boyer is the co-host of “Radio Free Eireann” broadcast Saturdays at 1pm on WBAI, 99.5 FM or wbai.org. He has helped to mobilize support for political prisoners in Ireland and the US.
Sinn Fein is set to split into two political parties with republican Sinn Fein in the ascendancy. Martin McGuinnes is to lead a party to be known as British Sinn Fein splitting with New Sinn Fein headed by Gerry Adams, while traditional republicans remain with Republican Sinn Fein.( see video). Differences on a McGuinness policy of bringing Ireland back into the British Commonwealth, along with his secret support for internment without trial by his continued presence in the British parliament. While he did call for the release of Interned prisoners, his record of duplicity on matters such as insisting on Derry to be British and calling it Londonderry, has enraged Nationlists across the North. He has also been linked with a major sex scandal known as the 'Hotel Stormont Orgy.' There are continuous accusations of him being a longtime informer for the British, responsible for the murders of thousands of Irish people.
When Internment without trial was introduced in British Occupied Ireland 40 years ago, the SDLP took a principled stand and resigned from Stormont, "the sectarian parliament for a sectarian people," as boasted by Unionist leaders. The British then flew leading Provos who were interned in Long Kesh concentration camp, to talks in London which came up with an agreement that was eventually called the Good Friday Agreement. Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness who led those talks, were vetoed by their republican leadership. The British then mentored them into the ascendancy withIN the republican movement.
Britain once again broke the terms of the peace agreement and is again interning political activists who oppose the British Occupation in Ireland whether the support armed struggle or oppose it. One of those interned is Marian Price who has been tortured now in solitary confinement for more than year. The British refuse to allow UN monitors into the prison to independently research exactly what is happening. Marian Price now a mature woman with considerable years of political activity on behalf of Sinn Fein is in both physical and psychological daily agony but the British agents who have infiltrated Sinn Fein have abandoned her.
When Britain introduced internment 40 years ago their techniques of subjection to noise, deprivation of sleep, and deprivation of food and drink were investigated by the European Court of Human Rights. In a trial "Ireland v. the United Kingdom" the European Court ruled that techniques amounted to a practice of inhuman and degrading treatment.
In response to the public and Parliamentary disquiet on 16 November 1971, the British Government commissioned a committee of inquiry chaired by Lord Parker, the Lord Chief Justice of England to look into the legal and moral aspects of the use of "Sensory Deprivation."
In response to the public and Parliamentary disquiet on 16 November 1971, the Government commissioned a committee of inquiry chaired by Lord Parker, the Lord Chief Justice of England to look into the legal and moral aspects of the use of the five techniques.
The "Parker Report"was published on 2 March 1972, and found the techniques of "Sensory Deprivation" to be illegal under domestic law:
10. Domestic Law ...(c) We have received both written and oral representations from many legal bodies and individual lawyers from both England and Northern Ireland. There has been no dissent from the view that the procedures are illegal alike by the law of England and the law of Northern Ireland. ... (d) This being so, no Army Directive and no Minister could lawfully or validly have authorized the use of the procedures. Only Parliament can alter the law. The procedures were and are illegal.
On the same day the Prime Minister Edward Heath stated in the House of Commons:
The Government, having reviewed the whole matter with great care and with reference to any future operations, have decided that the techniques...The statement that I have made covers all future circumstances.
"As foreshadowed in the Prime Minister's statement, directives expressly prohibiting the use of the techniques, whether singly or in combination, were then issued to the security forces by the Government."[3] These are still in force and the use of such methods by UK security forces would not be condoned by the Government.
A United Nations expert on torture has already called on Britain and all countries to ban the solitary confinement of prisoners except in very exceptional circumstances and for as short a time as possible, with an absolute prohibition in the case of juveniles and people with mental disabilities.
“Segregation, isolation, separation, cellular, lockdown, Supermax, the hole, Secure Housing Unit… whatever the name, solitary confinement should be banned by States as a punishment or extortion technique,” UN Special Rapporteur on torture Juan E. Méndez told the General Assembly’s third committee, which deals with social, humanitarian and cultural affairs, saying the practice could amount to torture.Segregation, isolation, separation, cellular, lockdown, Supermax, the hole, Secure Housing Unit… whatever the name, solitary confinement should be banned by States as a punishment or extortion technique
“Solitary confinement is a harsh measure which is contrary to rehabilitation, the aim of the penitentiary system,” he stressed in presenting his first interim report on the practice, calling it global in nature and subject to widespread abuse.
Indefinite and prolonged solitary confinement in excess of 15 days should also be subject to an absolute prohibition, he added, citing scientific studies that have established that some lasting mental damage is caused after a few days of social isolation.
“Considering the severe mental pain or suffering solitary confinement may cause, it can amount to torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment when used as a punishment, during pre-trial detention, indefinitely or for a prolonged period, for persons with mental disabilities or juveniles,” he warned.
The practice should be used only in very exceptional circumstances and for as short a time as possible, he stressed. “In the exceptional circumstances in which its use is legitimate, procedural safeguards must be followed. I urge States to apply a set of guiding principles when using solitary confinement,” he said.
He warned of an increased risk of torture in these cases because of the absence of witnesses and said some detainees have been held in solitary confinement facilities for years, without any charge and without trial, as well as in secret detention centres.
“Social isolation is one of the harmful elements of solitary confinement and its main objective. It reduces meaningful social contact to an absolute minimum,” Mr. Méndez told the committee, noting that a significant number of individuals will experience serious health problems regardless of specific conditions of time, place, and pre-existing personal factors.
Marian Price has now been interned for more than a year of solitary confinement, was force fed by the British for 6 months as political prisoner of conscience. The Queen ordered her release many years ago with an unconditional pardon witnessed by the head of the Catholic Church in Ireland which the British now say they have lost or shredded, without conducting any investigation. Two judges have already ordered her release based on the same evidence as and unelected Englishman overuling everyone in Ireland, including the judiciary and his Queen on the matter. It is generally accepted that his motives are bigoted and personal as he is a close ally of certain sectarian unionists he in the process of co-opting into his British Tory party along with most of the horsey set of fox hunters in the orange state.
Below are several articles detailing the resignation of another leading Sinn Fein member, coupled with many calls for Martin McGuinness to resign because of his Olympic collaboration for British Occupation in Ireland
Oifigí pháirtí Sinn Féin
11 Páirc Fassagh
Dún Lathaí
Co. Aontroma
BT44 9AL
Telephone: (028) 2765 7198
Elected to Council - 2005
Voluntary Advice Centre worker - Women’s Aid
Representative to Tribunals
Serves on: North East Partnership Interreg IVA Joint Committee, North East PEACEIII Joint Committee, North East PEACE III Partnership, Ballymoney Borough Fuel Poverty Steering Group, National Association of Councillors, Northern Ireland Local Government Association (NILGA), District Policing Partnership, North East Rural Development Partnership LAG.
Committee Membership 2011/12: Consultation Committee, Corporate & Central Services Committee, Development Committee, Health & Environmental Services Committee, Leisure & Amenities Committee, Audit Committee.
“Sinn Féin in my opinion has been slowly sedated…”
Pete Baker, Thu 24 May 2012, 2:49pm 24
In light of Mick’s post, and now Brian’s follow-up, it’s worth noting an Irish News report today of Ballymoney Councillor Anita Cavlan’s resignation from Sinn Féin ”over concerns it is failing prisoners”. From the Irish News report
The Ballymoney councillor said she believed Sinn Féin had “lost direction” and “should be doing more to represent the prisoners”.
“Sinn Féin in my opinion has been slowly sedated and now has been rendered unconscious by the intoxication of an illusionary power to govern,” she said.
According to the report the councillor intends to remain as an independent member of Ballymoney District Council.
“It is not that I support dissident activity. I would hate it to go back to the way it was. There were a lot of lives lost in all sections of the community.”
“There are those still amongst us who will insist that continued military action is the only way to achieve a united Irish republic.
“I disagree with them but I will not torture and abuse them if they are imprisoned.”
She said Sinn Féin’s calls for the urgent release of dissident republican Marian Price have been “weak”.
It’s what happens when “the guerillas” become “the people in power”…
But, as I noted in the comment zone earlier, other parties are free to ask questions.
Tags: Anita Cavlan, Ballymoney District Council, dissent, Government, Human Rights, Ireland, Media, NI Executive, Northern Ireland, Parties, Policing, prisoners, Society, Terrorism, UK
Topic: Government, Politics, Society and Culture
Region: Ireland, Northern Ireland, UK
Posted: Sun Jun 10, 2012 9:40 am Post subject: Cllr Anita Cavlan resigns from Provos
Cllr Anita Cavlan resigns from Provos
by Shan Van Vocht
Ballymoney Councillor Anita Cavlan resigned from Sinn Féin last month. An article in the May 24 Belfast-based Irish News quoted her as saying her resignation arose “over concerns it is failing prisoners” and the failure of the party leadership to address those concerns. She felt Sinn Féin “should be doing more to represent the prisoners” and that Sinn Féin’s calls for the urgent release of Marian Price have been “weak”.
More broadly, she expressed criticism of the way in which Sinn Fein has been incorporated into the British political structures in the six counties and the effect this has had on what SF used to (and some members claim still does) stand for. The party, she said, had “lost direction” and this is what happens, when “the guerrillas (become) the people in power”.
According to Cllr Cavlan, “Sinn Féin in my opinion has been slowly sedated and now has been rendered unconscious by the intoxication of an illusionary power to govern.”
I think it might be added that, while a significant number of veterans have departed the Provos, many have accustomed themselves to being sedated by the Provo leadership. This is one of the problems that arise not only in a military-led movement like the Provos but quite widely on the left whether we’re dealing with Stalinists, Maoists, Trotskyists or whoever – often a lot of people chose to be primarily loyal to a particular oorganisation or set of leaders rather thanj being loyal to first principles. One result is that it’s quite easy for leaderships to sell out; the other result is that a section of revolutionaries become enablers of the sell out and sacrifice their own principles for shabby people peddling shabby politics.
So, hopefully, others will do what Anita Cavlan has done and stop acting as enablers for New Sinn Fein and its collaborationist leadership cabal.
In relation to anti-GFA armed activity, she told the paper, “It is not that I support dissident activity. I would hate it to go back to the way it was. There were a lot of lives lost in all sections of the community. There are those still amongst us who will insist that continued military action is the only way to achieve a united Irish republic. I disagree with them but I will not torture and abuse them if they are imprisoned.”
Cllr Cavlan told the Irish News that she will now be an independent member of Ballymoney District Council. Independent socialist-republicans sitting on local councils are a good thing, but what is desperately needed is some moves to bring the various socilaist-republican groups and unaffiliated individuals together and develop the kind of party that is needed to take the whole struggle for national liberation and socialism forward.
(The parts of this item which deal directly with the resignatioon and quote Cllr Cavlan are mainly taken from snippets on Slugger O’Toole, as you can’t view Irish News articles on-line without being a paying subscriber.)
Cllr Anita Cavlan resigns from Sinn Fein
JUN 9
Posted by Admin
by Shan Van Vocht
Ballymoney Councillor Anita Cavlan resigned from Sinn Féin last month. An article in the May 24 Belfast-based Irish News quoted her as saying her resignation arose “over concerns it is failing prisoners” and the failure of the party leadership to address those concerns. She felt Sinn Féin “should be doing more to represent the prisoners” and that Sinn Féin’s calls for the urgent release of Marian Price have been “weak”.
More broadly, she expressed criticism of the way in which Sinn Fein has been incorporated into the British political structures in the six counties and the effect this has had on what SF used to (and some members claim still does) stand for. The party, she said, had “lost direction” and this is what happens, when “the guerrillas (become) the people in power”.
According to Cllr Cavlan, “Sinn Féin in my opinion has been slowly sedated and now has been rendered unconscious by the intoxication of an illusionary power to govern.”
I think it might be added that, while a significant number of veterans have departed the Provos, many have accustomed themselves to being sedated by the Provo leadership. This is one of the problems that arise not only in a military-led movement like the Provos but quite widely on the left whether we’re dealing with Stalinists, Maoists, Trotskyists or whoever – often a lot of people choose to be primarily loyal to a particular organisation or set of leaders rather than being loyal to first principles. One result is that it’s quite easy for leaderships to sell out; the other result is that a section of revolutionaries become enablers of the sell out and sacrifice their own principles for shabby people peddling shabby politics.
So, hopefully, others will do what Anita Cavlan has done and stop acting as enablers for New Sinn Fein and its collaborationist leadership cabal.
In relation to anti-GFA armed activity, she told the paper, “It is not that I support dissident activity. I would hate it to go back to the way it was. There were a lot of lives lost in all sections of the community. There are those still amongst us who will insist that continued military action is the only way to achieve a united Irish republic. I disagree with them but I will not torture and abuse them if they are imprisoned.”
Cllr Cavlan told the Irish News that she will now be an independent member of Ballymoney District Council. Independent socialist-republicans sitting on local councils are a good thing, but what is desperately needed is some initiative to bring the various socialist-republican groups and unaffiliated individuals together and develop the kind of party that is needed to take the whole struggle for national liberation and socialism forward.
Sinn Fein calls on Cavlan to vacate seat
11 June 2012 in an príomhbhóthar | Tags: Anita Cavlan, Ballymoney, Sinn Féin
Ballymoney Times
10 June 2012
**Via Newshound
SINN Fein has called on a Ballymoney councillor to vacate her seat after she walked away from the party.
Veteran councillor Anita Cavlan resigned last month over concerns it is failing republican prisoners.
She said she believed Sinn Fein had “lost direction” and “should be doing more to represent the prisoners”.
“Sinn Fein in my opinion has been slowly sedated and now has been rendered unconscious by the intoxication of an illusionary power to govern,” said the 62-year-old.
Ms Cavlan said the decision had left her “heartbroken” but she felt she had been left no option but to walk away from Sinn Fein and become an Independent member of Ballymoney Borough Council.
“It is not that I support dissident activity,” she said.
“I would hate it to go back to the way it was. There were a lot of lives lost in all sections of the community.
“There are those still amongst us who will insist that continued military action is the only way to achieve a united Irish republic.
“I disagree with them but I will not torture and abuse them if they are imprisoned.”
Ms Cavlan also dismissed Sinn Fein’s calls for the urgent release of dissident republican Marian Price as “weak”.
In a statement released on Friday Sinn Fein called for Ms Cavlan to vacate her Ballymoney seat.
“We are disappointed at the decision of Ms Cavlan to resign from Sinn Fein,” it said.
“We are particularly surprised at her criticisms of our approach to resolving the ongoing situation in Maghaberry Prison.
“Sinn Fein has visited the prison and met with the protesting prisoners and prison officials on many occasions. We have made and continue to make representations for an immediate end to strip searching and controlled movement within the prison.
“Anyone who was at the Sinn Fein Ard Fheis last weekend left in no doubt what our position is and what the party is doing to resolve the situation in the prisons.
“In common with all other party representatives when elected as a Sinn Fein councillor Ms Cavlan signed a pledge to give up the seat in the event of resigning from the party. Anita Cavlan should honour this pledge and stand down from Ballymoney Council and allow a Sinn Fein co-option in line with the wishes expressed by the electorate in the Bushvale electoral ward last year.”
Anita Cavlan Resigns from Sinn Féin: They are Failing the Prisoners
Seachranaidhe ― Posted 18 days ago
Seachranaidhe1 ― Sinn Féin Councillor Anita Cavlan has resigned due to concerns that the party is failing the prisoners. “Lost direction…should do more…slowly sedated…rendered unconscious…intoxication of an illusionary power…she received no acknowledgement about concerns raised…Sinn Féin calls have been weak” These are the words of a now former Sinn Féin Councillor
2012 Olympics, Armageddon, Big Ben, British Occupied Ireland, Internment, John Bullscutter, london 2012, London Olympics Games, Olympic, Olympic Games, Olympics, Olympics 2012
