An
Irish prisoner serving a 22-year sentence in HM
Belmarsh Prison in England may have to undergo an
operation to remove his leg as a result of extreme
medical neglect.
27-year-old
Aiden Hulme was imprisoned for alleged involvement
in the 2000/2001 'Real' IRA bombing campaign in
London. Prior to his arrest and imprisonment Aiden
was involved in a serious motorcycle accident that
left him with a severely injured leg. In the immediate
aftermath of the accident he was receiving medical
treatment at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast
and his condition was improving at the time of his
detention. However, subsequent to his arrest and
imprisonment in Britain's notorious Belmarsh Special
Secure Unit [SSU], Aiden's medical condition began
to deteriorate at an alarming rate.
In
response to intense political pressure the Belmarsh
authorities reluctantly acquired the services of
a medical specialist and doctor to examine Aiden's
injured leg. After a brief examination the Belmarsh-appointed
specialist informed him that the injured leg should
be amputated. Aiden's family and friends, disturbed
by and suspicious of this opinion, immediately sought
a second opinion.
After
intensive and prolonged political lobbying by the
Irish Political Status Committee and other human
rights groups an independent specialist was permitted
access to Belmarsh SSU to examine Aiden. After the
examination the independent specialist deemed the
limb "saveable" - contrary to the opinion
of the prison-appointed specialist. However, the
independent specialist insisted it was essential
that Aiden receive appropriate medical treatment
without further delay, warning he "feared the
worst" if adequate treatment was not forthcoming.
Aiden underwent surgery, but due to continuing medical
neglect he is now once again facing amputation.
Not
only is Aiden still being denied proper treatment
but astonishingly, the Full Sutton prison authorities
have decided to gradually withdraw his pain-killing
medication. No alternative medication has been offered
on the grounds that the pain in his leg is "purely
psychological". The painkilling medication
Aiden is receiving has also been called into question.
He has been suffering from bouts of short-term memory
loss which he believes are triggered by its use.
Michael
Holden of the Irish Political Status Committee who
is at the forefront in highlighting Aiden's plight
informs us that Aiden, along with all other republican
prisoners in Full Sutton, are currently being confined
to their cells 23 hours a day. He says: "this
is probably because we have been drawing attention
to Aiden's and the rest of the lads' plight recently,
and also due to the fact that Aiden's legal team
is taking the Home Office to court over the coming
weeks due to the medical neglect Aiden has suffered"
SDLP leader Mark Durkan has contacted the British
Home Office and the Department of Justice requesting
that Aiden's repatriation application be processed
without delay.
Sinn
Féin General Secretary Mitchel McLaughlin
has also called on the Irish Government to intervene
immediately. He said: "Aiden Hulme's application
for repatriation to an Irish prison has been with
Michael McDowell in the Irish Department of Justice
since last September (2005). I call on Mr McDowell
to process this application immediately so that
Aiden Hulme can come back where he will be close
to his family and receive the much needed medical
attention that he is entitled to."
Aiden's
legal team has initiated proceedings against HMP
Full Sutton on account of the treatment meted out
to him.
Various
other political and humantarian groups have spoken
out about this case and an online petition has been
lauched at: http://www.petitiononline.com/87bb92a/petition.html
For information visit Stormont-Watch via www.ia-pl.org
or www.newrepublicanforum.ie
Email:
pauldoyle2006@hotmail.com
Write
to:
The
New Republican Forum,
PO Box 10,
Dundalk Sorting Office,
Dundalk,
Co Louth,
Ireland.
