Vincent McKevitt - URGENT ACTION APPEAL -- Tional Poblachtach

[ Show ]

Support VoyForums

[ Shrink ]

VoyForums Announcement: Programming and providing support for this service has been a labor of love since 1997. We are one of the few services online who values our users' privacy, and have never sold your information. We have even fought hard to defend your privacy in legal cases; however, we've done it with almost no financial support -- paying out of pocket to continue providing the service. Due to the issues imposed on us by advertisers, we also stopped hosting most ads on the forums many years ago. We hope you appreciate our efforts.

Show your support by donating any amount. (Note: We are still technically a for-profit company, so your contribution is not tax-deductible.) PayPal Acct: Feedback:

Donate to VoyForums (PayPal):

[ Login ] [ Contact Forum Admin ] [ Main index ] [ Post a new message ] [ Search | Check update time | Archives: [1] ]

[ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]

Date Posted: 11:46:58 03/22/02 Fri
Author: Irish Freedom Committee
Subject: Vincent McKevitt - URGENT ACTION APPEAL

IRISH FREEDOM COMMITTEE NEWSLIST
www.irishfreedomcommittee.net
-----------------------------

Subject: Vincent McKevitt - URGENT ACTION APPEAL
Date: Friday March 22, 2002

The Irish Freedom Committee is making an urgent appeal on behalf of POW
Vincent McKevitt to all of our members and supporters in the US and
around the world.

Telephone calls, faxes, emails and letters are urgently needed to the
Dublin government's Justice Department and other contacts listed below;
calling for an immediate granting of compassionate bail to Vincent
McKevitt on health grounds.

Vincent McKevitt suffered a serious heart attack in Portlaoise on
Wednesday March 6th, after complaining of feeling ill for 4-5 days
previous to this. He was taken into Portlaoise Hospital and given tests
to determine if he had suffered a heart attack, which proved positive.
He was held at Portlaoise Hospital for two days, and on Friday March 8th
he was transferred by prison van to the Mater Hospital in Dublin, where
he was operated on to clear two blockages to his arteries. The
operation was only partly successful, and a second artery remains
dangerously blocked.

Specialists had recommended that Vincent remain under medical
observation at the Mater due to a 70% chance that he could have another
heart attack in the near future. However prison authorities removed him
back Portlaoise Prison on Tuesday the 12th; where he is today.

Due to the remaining second blockage, Vincent cannot exert himself in
the slightest. His heart is seriously damaged and will not take any
strain at all. Climbing stairs is a severe problem for him, and at this
time we are awaiting assurance from the prison that he is not being
required to climb stairs during the course of his day at Portlaoise. He
is constantly exhausted and clearly needs this second operation
immediately.

The prior record of health care given to political prisoners at
Portlaoise has been tarnished and exposed by the utter neglect suffered
by Kevin Murray last year, as he slowly deteriorated and died of a
massive brain tumor-- while prison doctors told his family he was
suffering from 'depression'. The responsibility for Kevin Murray's
death remains solely on the hands of the prison infirmary at Portlaoise,
which could have ordered x-rays early last year when Kevin first began
to complain of massive headaches and dizziness. This same infirmary and
its doctors are now responsible for Vincent McKevitt's health, which
remains in very serious danger.

Vincent made an appeal for compassionate bail on health grounds at a
remand hearing on Tuesday March 19th. As yet there has been no word
from the Justice Department on whether it will grant this appeal.

Please contact the Dublin Justice Department and Prisons Department, as
well as the human rights agencies and other sources listed below; and
let them know that you are most concerned for the health of Vincent
McKevitt in his present situation. Mention the prior appalling record
of health care at the Portlaoise infirmary given to political prisoners.
Demand that Vincent McKevitt be granted an immediate compassionate bail
on health grounds, before another tragedy occurs under the jurisdiction
of the Justice Department. Let them know you are informed of the
details of his situation, and are watching carefully. A sample letter
is posted below for your reference.

Please telephone, e-mail, fax or write to these contacts TODAY.
Vincent's health is severely compromised under the conditions at
Portlaoise, and there is no guarantee that should he fall ill again, the
Portlaoise infirmary will properly care for him.

Go raibh maith agat;

D. Fennessy
The Irish Freedom Committee
www.irishfreedomcommittee.net
************************************************
SAMPLE LETTER

Mister John O'Donoghue, T.D.
Minister for Justice
Justice Department
72-76, St. Stephens Green, Dublin 2, Ireland

A chara,
Many of us here in the Irish-American community are very concerned
about the seemingly rough and potentially dangerous treatment of Vincent
McKevitt recently by prison authorities at Portlaoise Gaol and the
Department of Justice. No matter what any of our views may be about the
reasons for Mister McKevitt's imprisonment, we are very anxious indeed
about the possibility of another case like Kevin Murray, which many of
us are just now learning about.
Is it not possible to provide a short term hospitalization and
thorough tests so as to avoid another needless loss of life?
Many of us in the Irish American community are waiting for your
answer before we decide what to do in good conscience.

_______________

************************************************
PLEASE WRITE, TELEPHONE, FAX or E-MAIL:

Mister John O'Donoghue, T.D.
Minister for Justice
Justice Department
72-76, St. Stephens Green, Dublin 2, Ireland
Tel: (from US)- (011) 353- 602-8202
or 011-353 -66-72413 and 66-72631
Fax: (from US)- (011) 353- 661-5461
e-mail: mini-@justice.ie

-------------
Frank McDermott
Prisons Operations Division
Irish Prisons Service
Justice Department
72-76, St. Stephens Green, Dublin 2, Ireland
Tel: (from US)- (011) 353- 602-8202
or 011-353 -66-72413 and 66-72631
Fax: (from US)- (011) 353- 661-5461
e-mail: Frank_J._-@justice.ie

-------------
Amnesty International - Ireland
Sean MacBride House
48 Fleet Street
Dublin
2
IRELAND
Tel: (from US) (011) 353 1 677 63 61
Fax: (from US) (011) 353 1 677 63 92
e-mail: in-@amnesty.iol.ie

----------------
NEWS SOURCES:

The Irish Times
Letters to the Editor,
The Irish Times,
10-16 D'Olier Street, Dublin 2.
Fax: (from US) (011) 353 1 671 9407
E-mail: lette-@irish-times.ie

The Sunday Business Post
Letters to the Editor
80 Harcourt Street, Dublin 2.
Editorial Fax: (from US) (011) 1 679 6498
(from US) (011) 1 679 6496
Editorial e-mail: sbp-@iol.ie

----------------

Please cc your letters/emails with the following:

- Your local newspaper OP ED page
- Your local US Congressman

The Dublin Government has worked hard to keep what goes on inside its'
prisons under wraps. It will influence the Dublin Government somewhat
if
it knows that members of the US Government and leading US newspapers
are aware of what is going on inside these prisons.

************************************************
PLEASE SEND GET WELL WISHES TO VINCENT MCKEVITT

Vincent McKevitt, Political Prisoner
Portlaoise Prison
Portlaoise, Co. Laoise
Ireland

************************************************
For more information on the DEATH BY NEGLECT of POW Kevin Murray please
go to:

http://members.freespeech.org/irishpows/bb3/kmurray.htm

************************************************
� The Irish Freedom Committee NewsList - IFC Updates

Permission to re-publish any article from this post is granted provided
signature is attached and the active link back to this site is included.

To Subscribe to this list send an email to IFCnews-subscribe@topica.com
with
SUBSCRIBE in the subject line.

To view Archives, follow HELP instructions or email deemail@msn.com for
assistance.
************************************************

[ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]

[ Contact Forum Admin ]

Forum timezone: GMT-8
VF Version: 3.00b, ConfDB:
Before posting please read our privacy policy.
VoyForums^(tm) is a Free Service from Voyager Info-Systems.
Copyright © 1998-2019 Voyager Info-Systems. All Rights Reserved.