4 March 1999 Edition
Ex-prisoners arrested in Manchester
by Dan O'Neill
Three members of Derry-based ex-prisoners group, Tar Abhaile, who were arrested and detained for three days in Manchester, are to take legal action against the British police for unlawful arrest.
Patrick Coyle, Tony Millar and Sean McMonagle were arrested on their way back from England after assessing fitness equipment for a new community gym being co-ordinated by Tar Abhaile.
The three were stopped as they prepared to board a plane at Manchester airport and held from Tuesday, 23 February, until Friday
Describing their arrest and subsequent detention as ``blatant racism'' they said it was obvious the Manchester police knew from the beginning exactly who they were.
Patrick Coye said: ``We were coming down in a group of twelve or more whena man and woman stopped us and identified themselves as Special Branch. The first question they asked was were all three of us travelling together, which was odd because we were not together at this point.''
He added: ``They asked us for our names and addresses and what we were doing in Manchester and we supplied them with all that information. They then asked us to fill in boarding passes. As I was writing, the woman continued to ask me about who we worked for, and eventually I informed her that I was not going to fill out the form if she was going to interrogate me.''
The woman then told Coyle that if he did not fill out the form completely, including their dates of birth, it was an offence.
Coyle continued: ``We then contacted our solicitor in Derry, Paddy McGurk, and asked him if we were obliged to supply them with our date of birth and he said no.
We offered to let the Special Branch talk to our solicitor but they refused. We were then told that we were being detained and taken to rooms that looked like some sort of interview rooms.
``After about an hour we were moved to what I presume is a police station in the airport and informed we were being arrested.''
After being kept in the airport station for four hours the Derrymen were transported in handcuffs, one at a time, to Altringham where they were put into cells. They were refused access to a solicitor, despite requesting one, for the first thirty hours of their detention.
On the Wednesday they were swabbed, fingerprinted and photographed. These photos were sent to he RUC for verification purposes.
Millar, one of the three arrested men, said: ``On our release, the Special Branch informed us that we were being held because we refused to give our date of birth and that that was a criminal offence. But they said that they were not going to prosecute us as we had been held for three days.''
Coiste na n-Iarchimi, the umbrella organisation working for the integration of republican ex- prisoners, expressed deep unease at the arrest of the three ex- prisoners.
Mike Ritchie, Project Manager of Coiste na n-Iarchimi, said: ``I am very concerned that the police officers should arrest the three men who were in Manchester on business related to their project. The arrest indicates that emergency legislation is still being used to create obstacles to re-integration. It also indicates the difficulties that continue to face ex- prisoners in seeking to build their lives after release.''
Three members of Derry-based ex-prisoners group, Tar Abhaile, who were arrested and detained for three days in Manchester, are to take legal action against the British police for unlawful arrest.
Patrick Coyle, Tony Millar and Sean McMonagle were arrested on their way back from England after assessing fitness equipment for a new community gym being co-ordinated by Tar Abhaile.
The three were stopped as they prepared to board a plane at Manchester airport and held from Tuesday, 23 February, until Friday
Describing their arrest and subsequent detention as ``blatant racism'' they said it was obvious the Manchester police knew from the beginning exactly who they were.
Patrick Coye said: ``We were coming down in a group of twelve or more whena man and woman stopped us and identified themselves as Special Branch. The first question they asked was were all three of us travelling together, which was odd because we were not together at this point.''
He added: ``They asked us for our names and addresses and what we were doing in Manchester and we supplied them with all that information. They then asked us to fill in boarding passes. As I was writing, the woman continued to ask me about who we worked for, and eventually I informed her that I was not going to fill out the form if she was going to interrogate me.''
The woman then told Coyle that if he did not fill out the form completely, including their dates of birth, it was an offence.
Coyle continued: ``We then contacted our solicitor in Derry, Paddy McGurk, and asked him if we were obliged to supply them with our date of birth and he said no.
We offered to let the Special Branch talk to our solicitor but they refused. We were then told that we were being detained and taken to rooms that looked like some sort of interview rooms.
``After about an hour we were moved to what I presume is a police station in the airport and informed we were being arrested.''
After being kept in the airport station for four hours the Derrymen were transported in handcuffs, one at a time, to Altringham where they were put into cells. They were refused access to a solicitor, despite requesting one, for the first thirty hours of their detention.
On the Wednesday they were swabbed, fingerprinted and photographed. These photos were sent to he RUC for verification purposes.
Millar, one of the three arrested men, said: ``On our release, the Special Branch informed us that we were being held because we refused to give our date of birth and that that was a criminal offence. But they said that they were not going to prosecute us as we had been held for three days.''
Coiste na n-Iarchimi, the umbrella organisation working for the integration of republican ex- prisoners, expressed deep unease at the arrest of the three ex- prisoners.
Mike Ritchie, Project Manager of Coiste na n-Iarchimi, said: ``I am very concerned that the police officers should arrest the three men who were in Manchester on business related to their project. The arrest indicates that emergency legislation is still being used to create obstacles to re-integration. It also indicates the difficulties that continue to face ex- prisoners in seeking to build their lives after release.''