FIRST PRISONERS FREED IN 10 DAYS
First prisoners freed in 10 days
By BEN QUINN
THE first terrorist prisoners to be released in the north under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement could be out in less than two weeks.
The Sentence Review Commission the body set up to decide whether prisoners applying for release meet the criteria laid down in the agreement said yesterday 17 prisoners could be released on September 7.
One of the 17 is serving a life sentence while the others are serving fixed terms.
Two of the ten Sentence Review Commissioners, Sir John Bleloch and Brian Currin told a press conference in Belfast that 446 prisoners applied for release before last Wednesday's closing date.
The Commissioners also estimated that up to 200 prisoners affiliated to the IRA, UVF and UDA could be freed by the end of October.
Paramilitary prisoners applying for release were asked on application forms whether they support the four listed groups not covered by the release scheme.
Those four organisations are the LVF, INLA, Continuity IRA and the group responsible for the Omagh bombing, the 'Real IRA'.
The Sentence Review Commissioners have held meetings with political and church leaders and say they are dealing with prisoners' applications on a "first come first served'' basis.
A total of 375 applications have been passed to the Northern Ireland Prison Service headquarters acting on behalf of the Secretary of State Mo Mowlam who are required to respond before a final decision can be made on release.
Out of the admissions received 83 were at an advanced stage of review.
A total of 32 had come from Republican prisoners, 29 from Loyalists and 22 from people convicted of terrorist offences who had dissociated themselves from the paramilitaries.
As well as senior Tories and Unionists, some of the bereaved in Omagh now oppose early releases.
Town councillor Crawford McFarland, whose 17-year-old neice Samantha, died in the bombing, said: "The release of these prisoners is going to make a lot of people very unhappy. Tony Blair should think again about the damage it could do to the peace process. We should wait for the terrorists to decommission before releasing terrorists.''
However, both British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Northern Ireland Secretary Mo Mowlam are said to be determined to press ahead with the prison release scheme, a central plank of the Good Friday Agreement, as is Taoiseach Bertie Ahern.
Independent News Service
By BEN QUINN
THE first terrorist prisoners to be released in the north under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement could be out in less than two weeks.
The Sentence Review Commission the body set up to decide whether prisoners applying for release meet the criteria laid down in the agreement said yesterday 17 prisoners could be released on September 7.
One of the 17 is serving a life sentence while the others are serving fixed terms.
Two of the ten Sentence Review Commissioners, Sir John Bleloch and Brian Currin told a press conference in Belfast that 446 prisoners applied for release before last Wednesday's closing date.
The Commissioners also estimated that up to 200 prisoners affiliated to the IRA, UVF and UDA could be freed by the end of October.
Paramilitary prisoners applying for release were asked on application forms whether they support the four listed groups not covered by the release scheme.
Those four organisations are the LVF, INLA, Continuity IRA and the group responsible for the Omagh bombing, the 'Real IRA'.
The Sentence Review Commissioners have held meetings with political and church leaders and say they are dealing with prisoners' applications on a "first come first served'' basis.
A total of 375 applications have been passed to the Northern Ireland Prison Service headquarters acting on behalf of the Secretary of State Mo Mowlam who are required to respond before a final decision can be made on release.
Out of the admissions received 83 were at an advanced stage of review.
A total of 32 had come from Republican prisoners, 29 from Loyalists and 22 from people convicted of terrorist offences who had dissociated themselves from the paramilitaries.
As well as senior Tories and Unionists, some of the bereaved in Omagh now oppose early releases.
Town councillor Crawford McFarland, whose 17-year-old neice Samantha, died in the bombing, said: "The release of these prisoners is going to make a lot of people very unhappy. Tony Blair should think again about the damage it could do to the peace process. We should wait for the terrorists to decommission before releasing terrorists.''
However, both British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Northern Ireland Secretary Mo Mowlam are said to be determined to press ahead with the prison release scheme, a central plank of the Good Friday Agreement, as is Taoiseach Bertie Ahern.
Independent News Service
Further Information
Publisher: IRISH INDEPENDENT
Ref: II/125
Published Date: 28-Aug-98
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