21 August, 2003

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Segragation needed in Maghaberry

Speaking after meeting the Steele Review Panel looking into safety at Maghaberry Prison, Sinn Féin representative Raymond McCartney said that segragation of prisoners is needed.

"The setting up of this Review is a tacit admission that the safety of prisoners is the issue," he said. "This makes it clear-cut. What is required is segregation. It is now a question of when and how segregation will be applied across the board.

"It is a question of commonsense. It is a question of safety.

Inside Maghaberry, there have been a string of incidents. As well as clashes between rival prisoners, there have been rooftop protests and a dirty protest by dissident republicans.

"Sinn Féin has consistently opposed the actions of these micro groups who have little or no support or strategy," said McCartney, a former republican prisoner who took part in the 1980 hunger strike. "However, it is clear that forced integration does not work. There is no logic in trying to force politically hostile prisoners to live together in prison.

"The NIO already operate a policy of segregation in Maghaberry for individuals from within the differing factions of loyalism. This was a decision taken on the grounds of safety and without any necessity for a review."

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