Inmates step up dirty protest

Up to 10 prisoners are on a dirty protest

Dissident republican prisoners seeking segregation from loyalists have stepped up a dirty protest at Maghaberry Jail in County Antrim.

It is understood up to 10 men, most of whom are linked to the Real IRA and Continuity IRA, are involved in smearing excrement on their cell walls.

The protest which has been going on for a week, follows a roof-top protest by prisoners over cell space, and subsequent fires at the prison.

High-powered hoses were brought in to clean up the mess on Tuesday and, according to the Prison Service, inmates were moved out during the operation.

However, the Prison Service described republican claims the prisoners were beaten and hosed down as "absolute rubbish".

Marion Price, who is a spokesperson for the protesters, said those involved in the protest were "very determined about what they intend to do".

"I was told that these men are prepared to do whatever it takes to get segregation and I find that very worrying," she said.

A Prison Service spokesman said: "We are committed to running an integrated regime because it provides the safest conditions for staff and prisoners.

"By far the most serious incidents in Northern Ireland prisons took place in segregated conditions."

Small fires

Prison Officers spokesman Finlay Spratt said prisoners were never beaten or hosed down.

"The men and women of the Northern Ireland Prison Service are professionals and their record stands for itself," he said.

"We have dealt with paramilitary prisoners over the last 30 years."

He said prisoners had been taken out whilst cells were cleaned and then put back into cells.

Last Friday night, small fires broke out in a dining room and one of the wings of the prison. No-one was injured.

It came exactly a week after eight prisoners climbed onto the roof of the jail and refused to come down until next day.

It was believed their protest was about having to share cells, but the Northern Ireland Office said four of the protesters were already detained in single cells.

An NIO spokeswoman said the protesters were a mix of republican, loyalist and non-paramilitary inmates at the County Antrim prison.

Prison visits were suspended as a result of the protest.