The Prisons Ombudsman for Northern Ireland has published a detailed report following an investigation into a number of complaints from those held in Maghaberry Prison.
Maghaberry Prison has recently been a cause of concern to the Celtic League who have raised issues relating to the treatment of prisoners with both the UK prison authorities and International Rights bodies.
Last month the NI Prison Service (NIPS) responded in some detail to our concerns and a copy of this can be found at:
https://groups.yahoo.com/group/celtic_league/message/3371
The Prisons Ombudsman’s report can be found at:
https://www.niprisonerombudsman.gov.uk/downloads/RoeHouseReport.PDF
The report in our view is self explanatory and bears out the concerns that the Celtic League and others have articulated.
In the light of the report we believe the previous position as outlined by NIPS, whilst not disingenuous, indicates a degree of complacency which may have caused the situation at the prison to be exacerbated.
NIPS are apparently committed to implementing the recommendations of the Ombudsman and, when completed, we believe that this should achieve a more equitable regime for both prisoners (and relatives) and prison staff.
However the situation will continue to need to be monitored.
J B Moffatt (Mr)
Director of Information
Celtic League
13/06/10