Segregation Crisis Takes a New Twist
By Jarlath Kearney
The crisis over segregation at Maghaberry took a new twist last night with allegations that prison officers endangered the safety of New Lodge man John O'Hagan.
The grave allegation comes after an incident involving Mr O'Hagan and leading loyalist, Ihab Shoukri, on Friday 11 July.
According to a document obtained exclusively by the Andersonstown News yesterday, prison officers suspected that a fight between both men was imminent - but took no action before a verbal spat blew up into a physical confrontation.
The document is a witness statement written by the prison officer who is pressing Rule 38 disciplinary charges against John O'Hagan as a result of the incident.
The document clearly shows that prison officers took no action to prevent an argument between Shoukri and O'Hagan developing into a full-blown fight.
The prison officer's full statement reads: "On 11 July 2003 I was detailed Pod Officer in Roe House. At approximately 18.15 hrs I was informed by Officer W..... to observe the camera in Roe 1 and 2 dining hall in case there was an incident between Prisoner B9136 Shoukri and Prisoner A9190 O'Hagan as there were previous words spoken on the landing.
"At approximately 18.21 hrs I noticed Prisoner Shoukri and Prisoner O'Hagan fighting in Roe 1 and 2 dining hall. The discipline alarm was pressed and Staff immediately responded to the alarm. S/O D..... was informed of this incident and instructed me to compile this report."
Speaking to the Andersonstown News last night, John O'Hagan's solicitor revealed that he has written to the Governor of Maghaberry over the incident.
"The Governor of Maghaberry has a duty to protect everyone in the prison.
"Yet in this instance there is prima facie evidence that my client's safety was put at risk by the conduct and policy of the prison administration," said Mr O'Hagan's solicitor.
"At least one prison officer knew a verbal confrontation had occurred. Accordingly a different prison officer was monitoring this situation by camera for a full six minutes after the first verbal confrontation, yet no decision was taken to intervene until after a full-scale physical confrontation had broken out. That has profound implications for the safety of my client.
"Given the current unstable and volatile environment within Maghaberry, the conduct of prison officers in this instance is a matter of grave concern.
"The safety of prisoners should be of primary importance to all of those involved in the prison administration. Clearly there are very serious questions to be asked as to why this incident was incurred against my client. The ultimate responsibility lies with the Governor," he said.
Both John O'Hagan and Ihab Shoukri are remand prisoners at Maghaberry.
Shoukri is a notorious loyalist who was previously convicted of extortion along with his brother Andre – the leading member of the UDA/UFF in North Belfast.
He is currently charged with offences in relation to the murder of fellow loyalist Alan McCullough.
New Lodge man John O'Hagan was charged in April 2002 with possession of documents that could be useful to terrorists.
He has spent 16 months on remand at Maghaberry Prison - effectively a two and a half year sentence - and has been refused bail on three separate occasions by the High Court. Legal observers believe that the case against O'Hagan will not be heard until Easter 2004 - at the earliest.
With Maghaberry Prison ready to boil over due to the NIO's policy of enforced integration for loyalists and republicans, this latest incident has drawn stinging criticism from Sinn Féin.
The party's prisoners' spokesperson, Councillor Michael Browne, said: "The immediate introduction of segregation is the only sensible policy in Maghaberry.
"The treatment of prisoners, like John O'Hagan, begs the question: what do the NIO hope to achieve by their current policy of forced integration?
"The attack against John O'Hagan took place a fortnight ago. Now there is available evidence to show that the attack developed under the watchful eye of the prison authorities.
"Is it really the NIO’s intention to increase instability and endanger the safety of individuals within the prison? On the basis of this evidence, that's the only conclusion possible," said Councillor Browne.