Amnesty refused permission for jails study

Amnesty International today criticised the Government for refusing to allow it to carry out a racism study at four prisons.

Secretary general Irene Khan said the move placed Ireland in the company of Turkey, Egypt and China, who had also refused its workers access to jails.

The human rights group requested permission to carry out the study at Mountjoy, Cork, Limerick and Cloverhill jails last January, but was refused by the Government which commissioned another group to do the same thing.

However Ms Khan claimed the investigation by the National Training and Development Institute was not far-reaching enough.

“The Minister for Justice informed me that the internal review that was being done was to look at attitudes in prisons and to promote training of officials,” she told Irish radio.

She said Amnesty’s study would have made more in-depth recommendations for action if a problem was found, and that training was not enough.

“We are deeply disappointed by this very surprising decision of the Irish Government which has been extremely supportive of Amnesty’s work overseas but seems not to be so supportive when it happens to be in their own yard.

“From my experience the refusal to give us access puts Ireland in the company of countries like Turkey, Egypt and China, which have also refused us access to their prisons.

“On the other hand we have been able to have access to prisons in the US, in Russia, in the UK, in Israel and even in Afghanistan.”

A prison service spokesman said the current study was being done by an independent body and was due to report soon.

He said Amnesty was refused permission because it would not be in the interests of inmates to have several groups working in the prison at one time.

“There is no question of any deliberate policy of keeping Amnesty out of prisons,” he said.

The matter was expected to be raised in the Dail later today.