Jail conditions forced Muslim into hunger strike

A devout Muslim, wanted in the US on a terrorism charge, has told the High Court he went on hunger strike for 22 days because of what he says were the inhuman and degrading conditions he was subjected to while detained at Cork Prison.

Ali Charaf Damache, aged 47, an Algerian-born Irish citizen with an address at John Colwyn House, High St, Waterford, has brought the action against the State arising out of his detention at Cork Prison between late 2010 and 2012 while he was awaiting trial.

In his High Court action against the governor of Cork Prison, the Irish Prison Services, the justice minister, and the Attorney General, Mr Damache is seeking declarations including that his constitutional rights and rights under the European Convention of Human Rights to practice his religion freely were breached.