A GROUP of Irish prisoners have, for the first time, used new procedures to appeal to a committee of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg over their treatment, The Irish Times has learned. Five non-aligned republican inmates of Portlaoise have made a 185-page submission to the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT).
A CPT report on Irish prisons was published in December, more than 18 months after it was delivered to the then government. One of its recommendations was that Irish prisoners be informed of their right to communicate confidentially with the CPT.
Having been informed of this by the Governor of Portlaoise last month, the prisoners sent their handwritten submission to the CPT on August 16th. They complained their rights were denied under four headings: compassionate parole, educational facilities, privacy and proper health care.
The group staged a hunger-strike last year seeking "parity of esteem" with other republican groups in Portlaoise. A statement by the prison's chaplains last month said: "The non-aligned republican prisoners have severed their connection with the republican movements, and thus they are equally - if not more - entitled to temporary release, as republican prisoners are.
Two prisoners are from the Republic, James Phoenix from Dublin and Andrew Gillespie Snr from Co Donegal, and three are from Northern Ireland, Brendan Hughes, Terry Ginley and Paul McGlinchey, a brother of the late Dominic McGlinchey.
All have signed declarations of support for the peace process and non-violent democratic methods - and these have not been retracted despite the ending of the Provisional IRA ceasefire in February.
A spokeswoman for the Department of Justice said she could not comment on the sending of the submission "since any correspondence is on a confidential basis". The prisoners received a reply from the CPT secretariat dated August 27th, acknowledging receipt of their submission and other correspondence: "All have arrived in Strasbourg without the stamp of the prison censor's office."
The CPT said the submission was "receiving attention" and the prisoners would receive a further letter. They were also sent an information sheet on the powers and competence of the CPT.
The Labour TD, Mr Joe Costello, said the Department "could have proceeded - in a cautious fashion - towards allowing temporary releases to take place and allowing them [the prisoners] to act in accordance with their principle word".
He said there could still be "a degree of security" that would not be intrusive. Some of their families were experiencing "considerable difficulty" due to the absence of the husband and father, Mr Costello said.
The CPT was set up under the 1987 European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. Ireland, along with most European states, is a party to the Convention and indeed, was the third country to ratify it.
The committee, composed of lawyers, doctors, prison experts and parliamentarians, is entitled to visit any place where persons deprived of their liberty are being held by a public authority. Such visits may take place unannounced. The CPT makes recommendations, if necessary, to strengthen prisoners' protection against torture and inhuman or degrading treatment.
The 78-page CPT report found people ran "a not inconsiderable risk of being ill-treated" in certain Garda stations and claimed that some staff in Mountjoy and Limerick prisons "have a propensity to ill-treat prisoners". It also reported an incident at Limerick Prison where a prisoner was allegedly punched, kicked and thrown down two flights of stairs by prison officers.