Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
Derek Byrne. Leah Farrell/Photocall Ireland
wheatfield prison
Prison service says water charge protesters are not 'on complete lock down'
Two of the men have been on hunger strike since Friday and said they will begin refusing liquids from today.
THE IRISH PRISON Service has denied claims that water charge protesters at Wheatfield Prison have been in lock down since they were jailed last week.
Two of the men, Derek Byrne and Paul Moore, have been on hunger strike since Friday and a statement on Facebook, issued on behalf of Byrne, said they would begin refusing liquids from today. It also said the men had been “locked up/confined to a cell for the last three days on complete lock down”.
This morning, a spokesperson for the Irish Prison Service told TheJournal.ie “the prisoners in question are being held in a normal landing on a normal regime with full access to the facilities of the prison”.
In Irish prisons, most inmates are out of their cells for more than six hours a day.
Another statement issued on behalf of Byrne yesterday said the men are “in great spirits” and the wardens “are treating us so well”. However he said they were all still on hunger strike.
“We want our plight to be highlighted globally and we want to know why no bankers have been jailed or made accountable for the mess this country is in and why the law works differently to those in power compared to the normal citizen.”
have your say