Dissident protest sparks prison alert
Dissident republicans have barricaded themselves into a dining room at Maghaberry prison, Co Antrim.
A suspicious object was thrown from the room where 20 to 30 inmates had gathered, sparking a security alert.
But army technical officers have now declared the area safe.
A number of separated republican prisoners remain in a Roe House dining room.
A Prison Service spokesman confirmed visits had been suspended because of the alert.
No visits to the prison are scheduled for Easter Monday or Tuesday.
“The incident arose after a number of separated republican prisoners barricaded themselves into the dining room of Roe House following mass on Easter Sunday morning”, the Prison Service spokesman said.
“An Army Technical Officer has been tasked after a suspicious item was found on a corridor outside the dining room.”
Easter is the time when republicans commemorate the 1916 Easter Rising in Dublin against British rule.
Eirigi splinter republican party general secretary Breandan MacCionnaith called for the reintroduction of political status for the inmates.
“Over the last number of years, the prison regime in Maghaberry has gained notoriety for its appalling treatment of republican prisoners and their families,” he said.
“This treatment has been centred on the denial of political status and the attempt to portray those who are detained as a result of the British occupation as common criminals.
“Regardless of one’s political opinions, the reality is that these prisoners would not be in jail were it not for the ongoing British presence in Ireland – they are clearly political prisoners and they should be treated as such.”
