§ Mr. Michael Brownasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement about the hunger strike by women prisoners at Armagh gaol.
§ Mr. Humphrey AtkinsThree women prisoners in Armagh prison who had been taking part in the ditty protest there started to refuse food on Monday 1 December. Like the men on hunger strike at the Maze, they are taking water and salt. On 3 December they were moved from their dirty cells to a clean, larger cell in the same wing, which they have not fouled or damaged.
The three women are medically examined daily. Their condition is not yet giving any cause for concern.
The declared objective of the hunger strike in Armagh prison, like that at Maze, is to secure political status for certain sentenced prisoners. On that issue—which has already been the subjet of a decision by the European Commission of Human Rights—the Government have repeatedly made their position plain. We shall not be coerced by threats, whether the blackmail of a hunger strike or other forms of protest inside or outside the prisons, into recognising that the alleged motive for a crime justifies some form of preferential treatment in prison.
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§ Mr. Michael Brownasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will publish in the Official Report full details of the crimes for which the women prisoners in the Armagh gaol, now on hunger strike, were convicted.
§ Mr. Humphrey AtkinsMary Elizabeth Doyle was sentenced at Belfast City Commission on 29 November 1978 for the following:
Offence Sentence Imprisonment 1. Possessing explosive substances with intent 8 years' 2–3. Placing prohibited articles (2 cases) 6 years' in each case 4. Possessing explosive substances in suspicious circumstances 4 years' 5. Possessing prohibited articles 4 years' All sentences to run concurrently.
Mairead Farrell was sentenced at Belfast City Commission on 9 December 1976 for the following:
Offence Sentence Imprisonment 1–3. Causing explosion (3 cases) 14 years' in each case 4. Possessing explosive substance with intent 12 years' 5. Possessing firearms and ammunition with intent 10 years' 6. Belonging to a proscribed organisation 5 years' All sentences to run concurrently.
Margaret Mary Nugent was sentenced at Belfast City Commission on 29 June 1977 for the following:
Offence Sentence Imprisonment 1. Acting with intent to cause explosion 12 years' 2. Possessing explosive substances with intent 12 years' 3. Possessing firearms at time of committing offence 12 years' 4. Belonging to a proscribed organisation 3 years' All sentences to run concurrently.