Northern Ireland

Judge says man facing extradition over David Black murder could be subjected to 'inhuman and degrading conditions' in Maghaberry

Co Tyrone man Damien McLaughlin was arrested in Co Donegal in March on foot of a European Arrest Warrant after going missing from a bail address in west Belfast last November
Co Tyrone man Damien McLaughlin was arrested in Co Donegal in March on foot of a European Arrest Warrant after going missing from a bail address in west Belfast last November Co Tyrone man Damien McLaughlin was arrested in Co Donegal in March on foot of a European Arrest Warrant after going missing from a bail address in west Belfast last November

A judge in Dublin has said a man facing charges over the murder of prison officer David Black could be subjected to “inhuman and degrading conditions” in Maghaberry Prison if he is extradited to the north.

Ms Justice Aileen Donnelly was delivering judgment in the Republic's High Court in a hearing involving Co Tyrone man Damien McLaughlin (40).

Maghaberry has been at the centre of a bitter protest with republican inmates in the segregated Roe House demanding an end to strip searches and controlled movement.

A father-of-four from Ardboe, McLaughlin (40) was arrested in Co Donegal in March on foot of a European Arrest Warrant after going missing from a bail address in west Belfast last November.

He is facing allegations that he aided and abetted in the murder of Mr Black on November 1 2012, and was in possession of an article suspected of being for the commission of the act of murder.

The prison officer was shot dead on the M1 as he drove to work in Maghaberry jail by the republican group known as the ‘IRA’.

He is also charged with ‘engaging in conduct in preparation for acts of terrorism’ and of being a member of a proscribed organisation.

It has emerged that in a judgment delivered last Friday, Ms Justice Donnelly expressed concerns about strip search procedures at Maghaberry.

She had heard evidence from several sources including a member of a joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement, Independent TD Maureen O’Sullivan.

In November 2016 the committee heard submissions from figures including solicitor and former Sinn Féin election candidate John Finucane, trade unionist Peter Bunting and businessman Conal McFeely.

In her concluding remarks, the judge said she was “satisfied” that evidence presented to the Oireachtas committee "amounts to objective, reliable, specific and updated information that rebuts the presumption that full-body searches are necessary on entry and exit to Maghaberry (in the absence of specific indications of the need for such a search) due to available technology.

“This means that the general conditions in Roe House in so far as they relate to strip searching raise a real risk that this respondent could be subjected to inhuman and degrading conditions on surrender."

However, the judge added that she has requested that the Irish government provide information about body scanning technology used in the Republic, which has also been discussed for use in Maghaberry.

"I will seek further information from the United Kingdom," she said.

Mr McLaughlin’s solicitor Peter Corrigan last night said: “Strip searching is inhuman and degrading and should be stopped immediately in light of this judgment."

A spokesman for the Northern Ireland Prison Service said: “NIPS do not wish to comment.”