Seven Stars
7th July 2006, 21:21
DEADLY DISEASE THREAT TO REPUBLICAN PRISONERS AT MAGHABERRY
PRESS RELEASE
CONTACT:
The Irish Freedom Committee
P.O. Box 11417, Chicago IL 60611
[email protected]
http://www.irishfreedomcommittee.net
DEADLY DISEASE THREAT TO REPUBLICAN PRISONERS AT MAGHABERRY
July 06, 2006
Irish republican prisoners at Maghaberry Prison are being exposed to a
deadly disease threat during outdoor exercise. The political
prisoners' only access to fresh air, one or two hours outdoors on
alternating days, is given in a tiny enclosed cage derisively known as
"the birdcage"; which is covered ceiling and floor with bird droppings.
Exposure to bird droppings is directly linked to a variety of fatal
illnesses in humans including Asthma, Cryptococcosis, Mycosis,
Histoplasmosis, Salmonellosis, Psittacosis, and Meningitis. Bird
droppings are also a known risk factor for Avian bird flu. A recent
report from the New Jersey Dept. of Health warns "Bird flu is spread
when infected birds shed the virus in their saliva, nasal secretions
and droppings. Public health officials believe people were infected
with bird flu after they had contact with these bodily fluids, or
surfaces contaminated with these fluids."
Avian bird flu virus thrives in moist, dirty conditions, making
Maghaberry Prison a prime breeding ground as the facility is built on
boggy soil. Republican prisoners recently refused to take exercise in
the "birdcage" as backed up water drains filled with rotting
vegetation made the stench in the exercise yard unbearable. Wet,
dirty conditions are clearly already in existence in the yard, and
with the recent outbreaks of Avian bird flu in Scotland it is
imperative that the exercise yard at Maghaberry Prison be immediately
decontaminated, according to existing hazardous waste standards, and
the facilities be thoroughly bird-proofed.
To intentionally confine human beings in a toxic bird-dropping
infested cage and call it "exercise" is barbaric in the extreme and
illustrates the total contempt the Northern Ireland Prison Service has
for the lives of republican prisoners. This selective and inhumane
treatment accompanies a litany of other abuses recently documented by
the Irish Freedom Committee during visits to the jail. We will
continue to press for an immediate independent and all-inclusive
health inspection at Maghaberry jail, and an immediate and thorough
decontamination of the exercise facilities at the jail in line with
Avian Bird Flu prevention standards worldwide.
- The Irish Freedom Committee
ENDS
#####
PRESS RELEASE
CONTACT:
The Irish Freedom Committee
P.O. Box 11417, Chicago IL 60611
[email protected]
http://www.irishfreedomcommittee.net
DEADLY DISEASE THREAT TO REPUBLICAN PRISONERS AT MAGHABERRY
July 06, 2006
Irish republican prisoners at Maghaberry Prison are being exposed to a
deadly disease threat during outdoor exercise. The political
prisoners' only access to fresh air, one or two hours outdoors on
alternating days, is given in a tiny enclosed cage derisively known as
"the birdcage"; which is covered ceiling and floor with bird droppings.
Exposure to bird droppings is directly linked to a variety of fatal
illnesses in humans including Asthma, Cryptococcosis, Mycosis,
Histoplasmosis, Salmonellosis, Psittacosis, and Meningitis. Bird
droppings are also a known risk factor for Avian bird flu. A recent
report from the New Jersey Dept. of Health warns "Bird flu is spread
when infected birds shed the virus in their saliva, nasal secretions
and droppings. Public health officials believe people were infected
with bird flu after they had contact with these bodily fluids, or
surfaces contaminated with these fluids."
Avian bird flu virus thrives in moist, dirty conditions, making
Maghaberry Prison a prime breeding ground as the facility is built on
boggy soil. Republican prisoners recently refused to take exercise in
the "birdcage" as backed up water drains filled with rotting
vegetation made the stench in the exercise yard unbearable. Wet,
dirty conditions are clearly already in existence in the yard, and
with the recent outbreaks of Avian bird flu in Scotland it is
imperative that the exercise yard at Maghaberry Prison be immediately
decontaminated, according to existing hazardous waste standards, and
the facilities be thoroughly bird-proofed.
To intentionally confine human beings in a toxic bird-dropping
infested cage and call it "exercise" is barbaric in the extreme and
illustrates the total contempt the Northern Ireland Prison Service has
for the lives of republican prisoners. This selective and inhumane
treatment accompanies a litany of other abuses recently documented by
the Irish Freedom Committee during visits to the jail. We will
continue to press for an immediate independent and all-inclusive
health inspection at Maghaberry jail, and an immediate and thorough
decontamination of the exercise facilities at the jail in line with
Avian Bird Flu prevention standards worldwide.
- The Irish Freedom Committee
ENDS
#####