Priest warns of Republican hunger strike in Maghaberry

Tyrone priest Monsignor Denis Faul has warned of a danger of a Republican hunger strike in Maghaberry prison in Northern Ireland because of poor prisoner conditions.

"You're going to have a hunger strike here, and the Provisional IRA don't want it,"said Faul, after meeting republicans in their cells for 2 hours.

Faul believes that prisoners who opt for the republican or loyalist landings in Roe House are being punished. "The prods are getting the same treatment, the ones that ask for separation. It's vindictive. It seems that the demand for separation is being punished in practice by excessive detention and lack of association and recreation, not to speak of education, in Roe House in comparison to the other houses of the prison," he said.

Faul said prisoners on the separated landings were locked up for as much as 22 hours per day, in contrast to the integrated wing of the prison, where prisoners were free to leave their cells for up to 20 hours daily. Cells in the prison are 12ft by 5ft.

One of the most contentious issues is the sniffer dog which checks visitors for drugs. "The procedure is highly suspect as the dog has sat at the legs of several persons who are above suspicion but who are strong republicans," said Faul. "Manipulation is suspected in order to punish these people from having open visits with their loved ones." During family visits, if one family member is picked out by the dog, all are denied an open visit.

He further complained about on-going strip searches. "This is degrading behaviour and cannot be justified on grounds of security," he said. "Some prisoners have had 12 frisk searches and one or two strip searches in one day."

Faul also has hygiene concerns. Prisoners eat their meals beside the toilet in the cell. " There are canteens in other Houses of the prison where prisoners can eat together in a hygienic atmosphere," Faul wrote. Prisoners are also not given the choice of having their bedding changed after the sniffer dog searches cells.

There are approximately 30 prisoners on the Republican landing, largely Real and Continuity IRA with a scattering of Provisionals.

The Good Friday Agreement integrated prisons in Northern Ireland, ending the previous situation where Republicans and Loyalists had separate blocks. However, a republican "dirty protest" and a series of clashes between prisoners led to the Steele Report two years ago, which recommended that loyalists and republicans be given separate landings.

Faul is meeting the North's prisons' ombudsman next week, and has written to him giving a number of causes for concern. He accuses the prison administration of a concerted attempt to overturn the Steele recommendations.

anton mccabe