Knowing that Kieran is anxanything written in had clipped ment. in Gaelic trom Republican News and smuggled them through the search.
she dian i give tem to Kieran, because screws were standing over them all the time. Now she pulled out the articles and threw them at the screws, saying they were all she had and nothing had gone in or out.
we ourselves knew. war. categorically refuses to take Then all three were searchBetty was made to pull down her pants and show her Nothing was Then they were summoned to see a senior screw, who told them they were banned from Kieran or any other prisoner for life. Deborah protested that it was only her who and she didn't pass the articles in anyway -and they were hardly dangerous • but to no avail The following Sunday two priests tried to see Kieran. They on the the punishment cells, and they were not allowed to see him or give him comTHE H blocks were a creation of the last Labour governIn 1972 the Heath government recognised the exceptional nature of those in prison for 'crimes' connected with the political situation in the North of Ireland and granted those prisoners 'special category status.
This meant that the prisoners were allowed to wear their own clothes, mix freely and take orders only from their officers rather than from prison staff.
Their status was similar to that given to prisoners of This procedure was abolished by the Labour govern ment in 1976. But the prisoners refused to accept the change and refused to wear prison uniforms. The British reacted to this by denying prisoners the usual facilities and by harassing them. One example was that unless prisoners wore prison uniforms they weren't allowed to go to the toilet.
The British insist that the prisoners are ordinary "criminals' but, from the minute they are picked up to the minute that they are convicted, those 'on the blanket' are treated entirely differently from criminals. They are con victed by special 'Diplock' courts, in which the normal laws regulating trials are ignored. There are no juries in these courts, the accused are tried by judges alone and those making accusations are not required to appear in court and therefore need not be cross-examined.
A new campaign has recently been started in Britain to support the demands of Irish political prisoners. Details of this campaign, called Charter 80, will appear in subsequent issues of Socialist Challenge Socialist Challenge 29 May 1980