Some 1,000 prisoners will remain in the North's jails after the controversial early-release scheme is completed, it was disclosed in Belfast yesterday, as a new guide to prisoners' rights was published, writes Theresa Judge.
Mr Kieran McEvoy of the Committee on the Administration of Justice (CAJ), which published the 188-page book, A Guide to Prisoners' Rights and Prison Law in Northern Ireland, said that while attention was focused on the early-release scheme it was important to remember that 1,000 people would remain in jail after more than 400 prisoners affiliated to the IRA, the UFF and the UVF were released.
"An awareness and understanding of their rights will continue to be important," Mr McEvoy said. The guide will be distributed to every prisoner in the North's jails. Mr Andrew Coyle, the director of the International Centre for Prison Studies in London and a former governor of Brixton Prison, launched the book. He said it was the first of its kind and should become a model for other countries. "Human rights are universal. They apply to everyone and that includes prisoners," he said.
The director of CAJ, Mr Martin O'Brien, said the group regularly received inquiries from prisoners and their families. The guide would give prisoners direct access to information. The Northern Ireland Voluntary Trust financed the publication.