Members of the Cork 32CSM attended and addressed an Amnesty International meeting in Cork City last night. The above statement was handed to them and we now await their reply.
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Marian Price was jailed for her part in the IRA London bombing campaign of 1973. She was part of a unit that placed four car bombs in London on 8 March 1973. The Old Bailey and Whitehall army recruitment centre were damaged with 200 injured and one man died of a heart attack.
Along with her sister Dolours they were apprehended along eight others as they were boarding a flight to Ireland. They were tried and convicted at the Great Hall in Winchester Castle on 14 November after two days of deliberation by the jury Marian Price was sentenced to two life terms.
She and her sister Dolours Price, along with Gerry Kelly and Hugh Feeney, immediately went on hunger strike in a campaign to be repatriated to a prison in Northern Ireland. The hunger strike lasted over 200 days, with the hunger strikers being force-fed by prison authorities for 167 of them.
Marian was released and pardoned close to death in 1980 after being treated
for life-threatening illnesses for several years. She continued to be treated
in various hospitals up to the time of her imprisonment last year. The British
authorities are fully aware of the seriousness of Marian's deteriorating health.
Marian was arrested following an Easter Commemoration in Derry and
charged with encouraging support for an illegal organisation after holding
a piece of paper for a masked man: a common occurrence at Easter
commemorations over the past forty years and one that until 2011 no one had
been jailed for.
On May 16th 2011 Marian appeared in a Derry Court and was granted bail on
the charge against her. As Marian reached the steps outside the court she
was re-arrested by the PSNI. The basis for the arrest was that on the night
prior to her court hearing the Secretary of State Owen Patterson signed a
document revoking the licence Marian was originally released from prison on
in 1980.
It is an accepted fact that Marian's licence became defunct when she was
pardoned under the Royal Prerogative of Mercy six days after her release
in 1980. The pardon was issued by then Secretary of State Sir
Humphrey Atkins and in effect wiped the slate clean for Marian Price. The
British authorities have recently claimed that this crucial document was either lost or shredded.
Whilst held in isolation in Maghaberry prison Marian had further charges brought against her (charges based on third party hearsay evidence) and for a second time was granted bail. Despite this she remains incarcerated on the whim of a single politician. The reality of this situation is Marian Price is being held for offences committed nearly forty years ago that she was in fact pardoned for.
Marian spent ten months in isolation in an all male prison, which is
tantamount to psychological torture and a violation of her human rights.
On the 17th of February Marian was moved to an alleged 'health care
centre' at Hydebank women's prison after spending ten months in isolation
in Maghaberry. It is claimed this move was the result
of 'clinical advice' given by the South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust.
This move made a bad situation worse. Marian then found
herself entombed at the end of a corridor.
(On June 22nd Marian was moved to an outside hospital)
Marian Price's husband Jerry McGlinchey and the Price family have
concerns in relation to this latest move to a secure hospital unit in
Belfast. Past moves made on medical grounds have proved detrimental
and indeed exacerbated Marian's complex medical conditions. In recent
discussions with medical consultants charged with Marian's care it was
stated that an unsuitable environment would be 'counter-therapeutic'.
In fact a doctor representing the state gave evidence that going to a
secure hospital unit would compound Marian's acute illnesses and
would mitigate against any beneficial treatment.
Marian was examined by United Nations doctors who reported she was 'unable to comprehend the charge being made against her to sufficient degree to inform her defence' and that 'she would be unable to follow the evidence in her own hearing as she lacks the ability to attend to detailed evidence.'
According to an article by Suzanne Breen of Tuesday, 21 August 2012 the human right's abuse of interned Marian Price continues
She writes; “The family of veteran republican Marian Price claim her human rights were violated after a prison officer remained in a treatment room as she underwent intrusive medical procedures.
Price, who has been suffering from pneumonia, was taken for a lung wash and an endoscopy so a camera could be inserted to examine her lungs.
Doctors asked prison staff to leave the treatment room in Belfast City Hospital where Price was heavily sedated for the procedure on Friday.
Her husband Jerry McGlinchey said: “They refused, saying they were under instruction from Hydebank that at least one prison officer stay with her during the medical procedure.
“The doctors stated it was unacceptable to have prison staff beside Marian but they were over-ruled.
“My wife is a seriously ill woman. She is not a security risk. She can hardly walk, let alone run off and escape.”
Price (58) was moved to Belfast City Hospital in June to be treated for severe depression after spending a year in solitary confinement in Maghaberry and Hydebank jails.
The Old Bailey bomber developed pneumonia and arthritis and her family say her health is deteriorating rapidly.
Mr McGlinchey claimed that on Friday, for the second consecutive day, his wife was hand-cuffed by prison staff against medical advice.
”Marian’s wrists are badly swollen from arthritis. The doctors have repeatedly told prison staff not to handcuff her but they insist on doing so.”
Price’s husband claimed that on Thursday his wife was subjected to “oppressive security” when she went to Musgrave Park Hospital for tests for her arthritis.
“She was double handcuffed as two prison staff and four PSNI officers accompanied her to the examination. When she went to give a urine test, one prison officer actually insisted on going into the toilet with her,” Mr McGlinchey said.
“This is inhuman and degrading treatment. Nobody has to agree with my wife’s politics to see this is wrong.”
Price was last year charged with encouraging support for a paramilitary organisation after holding a statement from which a masked Real IRA man read at an Easter Rising commemoration in Derry.
A court granted her bail on that offence — the charge has since been dismissed – but she was taken to Maghaberry prison after Secretary of State Owen Paterson revoked her licence.
Her lawyers claim he’d no right to do so as she’d been granted a royal pardon when freed from jail in 1980. The government says this pardon has been lost or shredded."
There have been widespread calls for the release of Marian from a broad spectrum of opinion including Gerry Conlon of the Guildford Four.
Marian Price is being interned by the un-elected Secretary of state, Owen Patterson, despite being granted bail by the courts despite being too ill to appear in court. Dublin City Council passed a motion calling for the immediate release of Marian Price in July. A number of TDs, activists and well known citizens, have published a statement seeking human rights and the freedom of Marian Price.
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