Issue 055, Saoirse: Irish Freedom (November, 1991)

              30p usa 24 per year samhain - november 1991 • the ruc castlereagh interrogation centre — evidence of torture of detainees will be heard by the united nations committee against torture during november british torture britain will be in the dock once again over the torture of detainees in the six counties following the news that the united nations committee against torture will hear reports next month on physical beatings and mental intimidation at the notorious ruc castlereagh interrogation centre in belfast both amnesty international and the committee on the administration of justice caj are to submit reports this will be the first time that the british government has been investigated by the un committee against torture and she will have to answer questions by committee members in its last major report on the six counties amnesty international stated bluntly that so-called safeguards to prevent torture of suspects do not work evidence of torture especially in castlereagh interrogation centre has been mounting in the past year legal sources have been reporting an upsurge in the number of cases of ill-treatment while in british forces custody this coincided with the introduction of clauses in out-of-court settlements stipulating that persons who receive damages from the british army or ruc cannot publicise their cases although they are legally questionable these clauses have the effect of tending to silence torture victims during the six-week period on average between a settlement being arranged and the actual payment of compensation in many cases after six weeks the media are not interested in reporting the story common features in july august and september of this year there have been a flood of com plaints relating to castlereagh common features of these assaults are beatings around the head punches to the back arms and stomach being made stand with hands above the head for long per iods threatening with shooting and verbal abuse the ruc are being more careful and are trying to avoid leaving marks on their victims this torture was highlighted by the arrests and subsequent physical abuse of belfast teenagers aged 17 and over during august which culminated in amnesty international issuing a worldwide urgent action call the first relating to the six counties in the case of damien austin 17 kicked while in castlereagh for three-and-a half days he was kicked in the testicles had stitches ripped out of an injury to his ear was punched on the arms throat and stomach spat at and told that the uvf loyalist death squad would kill him youths of 17 or older can be questioned in the six counties without the presence of a parent ten young dessie ellis : charges fail 7ter spending almost a year in british jails following his extra lition by the dublin administration dessie ellis of finglas dublin was acquitted of conspiracy charges iby the jury at the old bailey f london on wednesday october j31 he was immediately rearrested by british police in order to be kerved with an exclusion order banning him from entering britain speaking after the acquittal dessie ellis lawyer gareth pierce said that the whole extradition process needs re-examination the favourable resolution to his case highlights the fact once again that the extradition policy of fianna fail dessie ellis was the first man to be extradited to britain under the 26-county extra dition act 1987 has once again blown up in their faces under this legislation the british can demand and obtain any irish citizen in order to then attempt to charge and convict them without any evidence in the discredited british legal system in the ellis case the british had no evidence he ever was in britain but under the extradition legislation operated by dublin they can repeat this charade as often as they like a majority of the seven political extra dition cases beginning with dominic mcglinchey have now failed to stand up in the british courts illustrating the slot-machine nature of the process which any irish citizen is exposed to now is the time to step up the pressure to defeat extradition people are now in remand in crumlin road jail on trumped-up charges and many others are in hiding damien austin has himself been assaulted several times on the street by british crown forces since his release the systematic pattern of torture indicates a return by the british to the strategy of the late 1970s following the ending of internment in 1975 after the publication of the british-sponsored bennett report in 1979 which found evidence of physical abuse in ruc custody the british began to develop their supergrass policy they have now returned to a policy of torture in ruc custody and not withstanding the dublin administration's latest expressions of concern heard again at the beginning of november the 26-county state is guilty of complicity in the torture of irish people on irish soil this is yet another one of the results of dublin's outright collaboration with british rule in ireland british poll for withdrawal a british television documentary broadcast wednesday october 24 revealed that a clear majority of people there want a british with drawal from the six counties the programme pack up your troubles was part of channel 4's critical eve series the makers commissioned a mori opinion poll in britain which found that 61 per cent of those questioned would like to see british troops withdrawn from the six counties immediately or within a pre-determined period