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NOEL MAGUIRE
Irish POW transferred to Maghaberry Prison,
Six years into repatriation campaign.
December 2009
Noel Maguire, who was up to now the only Irish republican political
prisoner
remaining in a British jail cell, has finally been transferred to
Maghaberry Prison in Occupied North of Ireland; SIX YEARS after
repatriation efforts began in his case. His co-accused have long
since been repatriated and there was never any reason for his efforts to
have taken this long. Due to Noel's well known learning
disability, we have every reason to believe the British government used
his difficulties to put his case aside.
While Noel had hoped to be repatriated to
Portlaoise Prison in Ireland, where he would be closer to his wife
and children who reside in Carlow, the Free State government
repeatedly denied his requests and used false claims against his
citizenship. Shamefully the Free State government abandoned a
citizen of its own country, using the same disgraceful tactics of the
British government in toying with a man suffering from a known
disability.
Welcome home Noel! Please write to
Noel at the address above.
BACKGROUND
Noel was interned in Britain and accused on little evidence of a 2001
bombing campaign targeting the BBC and other British offices, costing
millions of pounds in damages. Noel was sentenced to 22 years and has
been held in a foreign country a great distance from his family and
children since his internment and arrest in 2003. Noel is an Irish
citizen and holds an Irish passport. Under European law, Noel is
entitled to be repatriated to his home country to serve the remainder of
his sentence, on human rights grounds. In addition, Noel was brutally
attacked in his prison cell in 2006, resulting in two prisoners being
charged with attempted murder. Noel's physical and mental well-being is
under serious threat in this hostile environment.
The Irish Freedom Committee and our membership have leafleted, picketed
and campaigned for Noel's repatriation since his arrest in 2003. Our
efforts on behalf of Noel and his co-accused have seen all but Noel
successfully repatriated to serve their time in Ireland, long before
Noel was finally transferred this month to serve the remainder of his
sentence in Ireland.
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