The ongoing hunger strikes in English prisons by members of the ‘Filton 24’ have highlighted a dirty repression tactic used by the British state forces – internment by remand. This is one that is well known to Irish Republicans.
It entails arresting people on often fabricated or exaggerated charges, then continuously delaying their trial, often for years on end while denying them bail. The effect is that they are left to rot in prison despite having never been convicted of any crime.
At this moment, just six of the 24 activists (none of whom are currently on hunger strike) have seen the beginning of their trial, more than 15 months on from their arrest. The others seemingly face an indefinite time behind bars, with tentative estimates suggesting that many of their trials will not begin until sometime in 2027.
It is a tactic that is very familiar to those of us in Ireland. For generations it has been used to imprison Irish Republicans regardless of the truth of the allegations. In just over a month, we will meet in Doire to commemorate the British massacre of 14 civilians there in 1972. The reason those men and women marched that day was to oppose British internment without trial of Irish people. 54 years later this system is alive and well.
Shea Reynolds, convicted by a British court just a week before Christmas, spent almost seven years in Maghaberry Gaol without having been convicted of any crime. Sean Farrell (more than 5 years) & Ciaran Maguire (more than 4 years) add to the countless examples throughout the years. No matter the truth of the allegation, this is an indisputable denial of justice.
As though highlighting this point, Republican internees will not even have the right to be judged by a jury. Instead, when they finally face a court, it will be a ‘Diplock’ court in front of a single judge (an issue we have highlighted recently). These non-jury courts are also now being proposed for use in England after years of testing in Ireland.
Internment by remand is just part of a system of extreme methods employed throughout British colonies that have then been unleashed on the population of Britain. Aimé Césaire proposed this concept in his 1950 Discourse on Colonialism – what he termed the ‘terrific boomerang’. While the violence faced by the colonies may not be so obvious 75 years later, there is no doubt that the repressive judicial systems perfected in Ireland are finding their way home.
We will continue to resist these tactics in Ireland at every stage, but we will also take every opportunity to stand with anti-imperialists who resist them elsewhere.
Support Irish Republican prisoners. Support the Hunger Strikers. Support the 5 Demands.
