- Marian Price.
The Brehon Law Society in New York, in a statement released this week, said it views "with increasing alarm" the "violations of substantive due process" evident in the continued indefinite detention in Northern Ireland of Marian Price.
Said the Brehons in their statement: "Mrs. Marian Price McGlinchey was imprisoned on order of a British official, the Secretary of State of Northern Ireland, on May 15, 2011. She was charged with holding a piece of paper containing a speech given by another person at a commemoration ceremony in Derry's city cemetery.
"The British government, unconstrained by a bill of rights or written constitution, can send one to prison for holding a piece of paper on which are written words challenging the legitimacy of that government.
"Marian Price had been imprisoned in 1973 for attacking British government buildings in London. She was freed in 1980 suffering from tuberculosis and anorexia, and weighing around 70 pounds. Her lawyers insist that her release was based on a royal pardon, which would mean
that the Secretary of State had no legal power to order her detention. However, the Secretary of State's lawyers say that "extensive searches" have failed to locate the crucial document. They claimed a copy destroyed by government officials in 2010 was the only copy that existed, so its exact terms cannot be established. But, they add, the "surrounding circumstances" of 1980 suggest that Price was not pardoned but conditionally released.
"A judge ordered her release on bail on the paper holding charge, but she continues to be interned nonetheless. A fix had been arranged by the British Secretary of State in case the bail hearing went against the government, which it did.
The British authorities in Northern Ireland realized that putting someone in prison on the pretext of holding a piece of paper was likely to raise eyebrows -- even among Tories who have regard for the rule of law. An embarrassed government searched for another excuse to justify Marian's internment.
"Two British soldiers were killed in Northern Ireland in March 2009. Marian was questioned in November 2009 about a mobile phone allegedly used by those suspected of involvement in the killings, but no charges were brought against her. The principal target of the police investigation was later found not guilty after a full trial. Marian has had no trial but she remains in prison despite the bail order and the collapse of the government's case against the target defendant.
"The British Guardian newspaper reported that when Marian was scheduled to appear before a Belfast Magistrates Court for a preliminary hearing, she was not produced when it emerged that her defense counsel wanted to cross-examine three witnesses, including two senior detectives, as part of their challenge to the case against her. The law can be terribly awkward for a government intent on keeping a 57-year-old woman in prison without credible charges.
"Should the British Secretary of State and other authorities not learn to curb the arbitrary and capricious way in which they wield power and imprison opponents on the flimsiest of pretexts and without recourse to the courts, we may again witness an upsurge of support for those whom the government seeks to suppress. The government, the law, the peace, and ultimately the people of Northern Ireland will suffer.
"The British government and its ministers should trust in the rule of the law instead of thwarting it, as they do with increasing frequency. They have refused to hold the promised public inquiry into the role of their agents in the murder of human rights lawyers Pat Finucane and they have refused to cooperate with investigations of the Dublin/ Monaghan bombings, which led to the largest loss of life during the Troubles.
"Internment of a 57-year-old woman for holding a piece of paper on which are written words of criticism of a government shocks the conscience when that internment is imposed by the same government that delayed and thwarted investigations into death of its own subjects and blocked an investigation of its involvement in deaths of the citizens of another state.
"We urge the British government to respect the rule of law and cease the unjustified internment of Marian Price," the statement concluded.
Meanwhile, a solidarity event in support of Price will be held this Sunday, April 22, at Rocky Sullivan's in Red Hook, Brooklyn. Musical performances, readings, and special video and slide presentations are being planned for the event which starts at 2 p.m. Sullivan's is at 34 Van Dyke at Dwight.
"The organizers and artists represent a broad coalition across the political spectrum with one thing in common: the belief that human rights and due process must be safeguarded, in Ireland and on our own shores," said a statement by the organizers.
