McAliskey "should remain on bail"

MS ROISIN McAliskey, whose baby is four days overdue, should be informed that her conditional bail will not be revoked and that…

MS ROISIN McAliskey, whose baby is four days overdue, should be informed that her conditional bail will not be revoked and that she will not be transferred back to Holloway Prison after the birth of her child, her supporters demanded yesterday.

It is understood Ms McAliskey may have to be induced because her baby, which is believed to weigh only 5lb, is so small. A severe asthmatic, she has had a difficult pregnancy and for the last month has been unable to walk because of swollen legs.

A family friend said that for the first time in seven months Ms McAliskey (25) felt able to relax and was eating properly following the decision in the High Court in London on Friday to grant bail on the condition that she reside at the Whittington Hospital, Highgate, north London.

However, her supporters fear this situation may change following the birth of her child. On Saturday Mr Martin McGuinness, the Sinn Fein MP for Mid Ulster, echoed her campaign's demands to the British judiciary not to revoke her bail conditions.

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He said he would write to the British minister concerned and also the German authorities urging that "they both take this opportunity to end the inhumane treatment which Roisin McAliskey has been subjected to."

Ms McAliskey has her own secure room on the hospital's maternity ward. There is a "discreet" police presence, with one officer patrolling outside in the corridor and another two monitoring the hospital grounds.

An English Prison Service spokesman said the conditions could be reviewed after the birth, depending upon the baby's and Ms McAliskey's health. "At the moment she has to stay at the hospital; it could be indefinitely. It is a case of wait and see," he added.

Ms McAliskey, from Coalisland, Co Tyrone, is awaiting extradition to Germany in connection with the bombing of a British army base in Osnabruck last June. Her mother, Mrs Bernadette McAliskey, the former MidUlster MP, and the child's father, Mr Sean McCotter, will both be present at the birth.

In a letter to the London Independent, Mr McCotter complained that he had been unable to provide his partner with all the necessary baby items because Holloway Prison believed they were a security risk.