Stop the Extradition of Roisin McAliskey

Emergency Protest @ British Consulate (LA)

Where:
British Consulate
11766 Wilshire Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90025

When:
 June 1st, 2007
12-3 pm

Why:
Extradition of Roisin McAliskey

Róisín McAliskey has always   maintained her
innocence, and   substantial evidence supports her
claim, including an alibi and a   principal
prosecution witness’s   inability to identify her a
few months  after the attack.    Britain has already
determined that  there is insufficient evidence to try
 Róisín McAliskey for the Osnabruck  attack.    Almost
11 years have elapsed  since the Osnabruck attack, and
 the passage of time makes it a  great deal more
difficult to obtain a  fair trial and defend against
the  charges, as witnesses are more  difficult to
locate and may have died  or become incapacitated or
too   infirm to testify, witnesses’   memories
naturally will have  dimmed or been artificially
shaped  by intervening publicity, and   physical
evidence may have   deteriorated or be unavailable for
  testing by the defense.    The timing of Róisín
McAliskey’s  arrest and delay in acting upon the
extradition request strongly suggest  her arrest is an
attempt to scuttle  the newly-restored devolved
government by elements within the  British government
opposed to the  peace process, such as MI5.

 Sponsored by:  Coalition of Irish Republican Women
Contact:  irishrepublicanwomenscoalition@yahoo.com

By Una Bradley
Irish News 13 April 98   ROISIN
McAliskey has returned home to her Coalisland home for an emotional
Easter reunion with her family after a 16-month detention in British
custody, it emerged yesterday.   A near-tearful
Bernadette McAliskey yesterday said her daughter was "recovering well"
from the ordeal while her granddaughter, 10-month-old baby Loinnir, was
"in great health".   "They're both coming along fine.
All they want to do is to recover from their experience and get on with
their lives," said the former mid-Ulster MP.   Roisin (26) was detained for 16 months by the British authorities while
awaiting extradition to Germany in connection with an IRA mortar attack on an army base in Osnabruck.   After
intensive lobbying by international justice groups, it was announced
last month the extradition would not go ahead on health grounds.   British
Home Secretary Jack Straw said any move to extradite her would be
"unjust and oppressive" in light of her deteriorating condition.   Roisin
had suffered a mental breakdown following her six-day interrogation by
the RUC in Belfast's Castlereagh holding centre and subsequent
transferal to Holloway prison in England.   She was removed to the high-security Belmarsh prison at one stage before being brought back again to Holloway.   Roisin was treated as a maximum security prisoner throughout and was strip-searched upwards of 70 times during her pregnancy.   Following
release from custody, she spent a further three weeks in the mother and
child unit at a London psychiatric hospital, suffering from post-natal
depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, before doctors judged
her well enough to return home for Easter.   Her
boyfriend Sean McCotter accompanied her and baby Loinnir home from
London, where he had been living since the birth of his daughter last
May.   The three had arrived in Ireland last week to the
"delight" of the McAliskey family, who had previously expressed hope
Roisin would be well enough to celebrate Easter.   It is
understood Roisin, Sean and Loinnir are living together in the Co
Tyrone family home where Roisin was initially arrested by the RUC in
November 1996.   They now wanted "nothing more than to put the ordeal firmly behind them", Bernadette McAliskey said yesterday.   "Now that it is all over, Roisin is once again a private citizen.   "She, Loinnir and Sean hope they'll be allowed to return to normal
life in privacy.   "They just want to recover from the whole experience and get on with their lives."   The
former civil rights campaigner said while she was asking for privacy
from the press, she also wanted to acknowledge the contribution of the
Irish News in reporting Roisin's trauma.   She said: "We do appreciate the part the Irish News played in the campaign for justice.   "But Roisin is just not ready to speak to the media at this stage."   And Bernadette McAliskey confirmed the family is to sue the British authorities for "neglect".   An
independent medical report, due to be published later this month, was
expected to confirm that Roisin had developed osteoporosis during her
pregnancy, leaving her with permanent damage to one leg.   

"She may now walk with a limp for the rest of her life," said her mother.

"The last time I saw my daughter as a free person she was not in this state - somebody is responsible for that."We cannot sue for wrongful imprisonment but our lawyer is still examining the possibility of pursuing damages for neglect and its impact on her health.'"

Roisin was again arrested by British police agents May 19th at her home in Coalisland, Co. Tyrone, Ireland; on an extradition order from Germany issued in October 2006. She was released on bail and her extradition hearing is sceduled for June 6th, 2007.