Martin Corey: Psychological Torture

By AM Friday, July 27, 2012

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Radio Free Éireann interviews Cait Trainor of Republican Sinn Fein about the internment of Lurgan republican Martin Corey


WBAI 99.5 Pacifica Radio
New York City
Saturday 14 July 2012

John McDonagh (JM) - Sandy Boyer (SB) - Cáit Trainor (CT)

(2:20 PM EST)

SB:  Now, we are going to go across the water to Lurgan, County Antrim (Ed Note: Armagh) to talk to Cáit Trainor from The Release Martin Corey Campaign.

Martin Corey served nineteen years in prison for IRA activity.  He was out for nineteen years.  Then they came one morning, (Ed note: 16 April 2010) in the early morning and took him away.  Took him back to prison on the basis of secret evidence he's never been allowed to see, his lawyers aren't allowed to see it.

But Cáit, this week something very important happened with the case.  Can you tell us about it please?

CT: Yes. This week there's been a lot of happenings and to-ing and fro-ing.

So on the 9th of July Martin's case was before the court and Justice Seamus Treacy had heard the case for four days and taken seven weeks to deliberate on whether it was justified to keep Martin incarcerated. 

After those seven weeks, which he spent a considerable period of time obviously looking at the case, he ruled that Martin should be released on unconditional bail and that his human rights were being breached by keeping him in gaol and that they had no remit to keep him in gaol. 

And just to give you a bit of background: Seamus Treacy, the judge, is the foremost and highest human rights judge and lawyer actually in Ireland so his word would really be correct.  He really knows what he's talking about.

So that was on the 9th of July and Martin was to be released that day.

Later on that day, the British Secretary of State Owen Paterson, to  Ireland, blocked Martin being released.  What he did was he made a call into another judge, McCloskey, and made sure really that Martin wasn't going to be released.

Justice Treacy was out of the country, he'd had gone on holiday that day so he couldn't do anything. Effectively, the British Secretary of State has re-interned Martin.

On the 10th of July Martin's legal team brought it to court again for the judge to review.  And McCloskey, the second judge, refused to make a ruling on it and put it further back to the High Court to be heard the following day, which was the 11th of July.

And that was heard by two judges, that was: the Lord Chief Justice Declan Morgan and again Judge McCloskey.  Now they ruled that nothing had been breached, that Martin should be in gaol until the Parole Board gets a look at it.  And it has been rescheduled now for the twenty-eighth of September but all the while Martin will be in gaol. 

So at this moment in time Martin's human rights are being breached and we are working very hard to bring this to the public's attention.

SB:  Now Cáit, this is a form of psychological torture.

CT:  Absolutely.

SB:  One day you say to Martin Corey – you're getting out. And the next day...no explanation...you're just not getting out. 

CT:  I mean it was very sad. 

Martin was actually sitting in the reception of the prison while his family were outside in a car waiting to pick him up.  And at 4:30 PM he was told that he wasn't going anywhere. 

So yeah, you're completely right. It is a form of psychological torture and there is no justification for it.  Even at this time the closed evidence that they're keeping him in (on) has not been made public. 

So a judge has ordered his release and the Secretary of State, who it would seem is now running the judiciary, had blocked that but again, nothing has been forthcoming as to why.

JM: And Cáit, this doesn't bode well for Marian Price or Gerry McGeough.

If they can do this with Martin Corey then a British minister can do it to anyone.  And Gerry's release will be coming up now in February and then with Marian - who knows?

Here we have Sinn Féin running around pretending that their governing and they're sitting in Stormont and they have their offices in London...they just had the Lord Mayor of Londonderry's house was raided!

They have nothing!  They're such figureheads - they take their paycheck and go home - they don't run the place.

CT:  Absolutely.  These people are just subservient to foreign occupation; they are now subservient to British occupation. 

They're so far removed from anything Republican.  They don't care about prisoners.  They certainly don't care about Gerry McGeough, Martin Corey or Marian Price.

I thought it was very telling this week: they're giving out about their hero, the Lord Mayor in Doire being raided.  But when they kick in my back door there's never a word.  I must have done something to have my back door kicked in.

But for them guys ... No! No! They're completely innocent and this is an outrage!

Again, they don't care about Republican prisoners.  They've washed their hands of all the prisoners and as you've said, it doesn't bode well for anybody.

Anybody who served a lengthy prison term for the Republican Movement can be taken back on the whim or the word of the British Secretary of State who is the manager, if you will, of the Provisionals.

SB: The British Secretary of State makes it a habit to over-rule judges.

He's over-ruled Marian Price's judges *twice* and ordered her back to prison.  This case won't even be heard until September 29th and who knows?  It could be a month, two months before they'll issue a verdict.  And the same thing could happen to Marian Price.  If Marian wins her appeal this is what's going to happen to her.

That's why we need to organise for *all* these prisoners.

CT:  We do.  We really need to rally now and lobby.

We're really hoping that people will start lobbying their own representatives in their area no matter what country they're in. 

For people in America we would ask them to maybe their own political representatives and to get involved in this and to take a look at the over-looking of due process that's going on. 

Martin Corey had went through a judicial process and because the British government did not like the answer to that they are now over-ruling the court system.  They're over-ruling their own system which doesn't make sense.

If you go to trial today and whatever the answer is ... if they don't like it they're going to overrule it.

SB:  Well one small piece of good news at their convention this week The Ancient Order of Hibernians passed a Resolution for Martin Corey demanding that he be released and protesting what the Secretary of State has done.

So we are getting the word out.  And some support is building over here.

CT:  Absolutely.  And I mean we're very thankful for it.

The Ancient Order of Hibernians doing that and the committee here has being able to take a look at the wording of that resolution and that really does help us.  The more support we have from various organisations the stronger the case we have and also public awareness gets heightened in that.

So to all those members and to that organisation we are very grateful for that.

JM:  You're listening to Radio Free Éireann and we have Cáit Trainor on from Republican Sinn Féin giving us the latest update on Martin Corey and his plight in gaol proving once again...you really do not need a court system in The Six Counties you just have to go to whoever the British minister is and ask him...well do I go in or do I get out? 

There are no juries Diplock court system.  And the judges- no matter how big or how much education they have – it's all irrelevant!  

And Cáit, we thank you for coming on and we'll have you back on in August when we get back on the air.

CT:  Thank you.

(Ends 2:27PM EST)