FOUR men have been charged with public order offences following disturbances outside Maghaberry Prison on Saturday.
The offences took place as around 200 people demonstrated in support of dissident republican prisoners who are on hunger strike.
The men, three of whom are aged 20 and one aged 23, are due to appear at Lisburn Magistrates Court today on charges relating to riotous behaviour and fireworks offences.
A police officer was also injured during the protest.
The hunger strike began after Palestinian GP Dr Issam Hijjawi Bassalat was held in a Covid-19 isolation area rather than being returned to Roe House, the republican political wing.
Several republican prisoners at Maghaberry, Hydebank and Portlaoise jails are taking part.
The Irish Republican Prisoners Welfare Association (IRPWA) claimed conditions at Foyle House are "filthy and dilapidated" and that Dr Bassalat's isolation is "punitive".
Dr Bassalat (62) was one of 10 people arrested last month as part of an MI5 operation targeting the New IRA.
He launched his fast on September 16 after returning from an outside hospital following an MRI scan.
Thomas Ashe Mellon, member of dissident republican political group Saoradh, was reported to be among the crowd at Saturday's demonstration.
Addressing the crowd, Saoradh's Stephen Murney quoted convicted car bomber Sean McVeigh and praised his dissident republican "friends" within the prison walls.
"The least I can do is be strong for them and highlight the injustices inside these walls. To quote Sean McVeigh, we can endure because we are right," he said.
"It is not too late for the occupier to show common sense and move Dr Issam back to Roe House, but they chose not too."
The Ulster Unionist Party’s justice spokesperson Doug Beattie condemned the scenes outside the prison and described the situation as "an exercise in futility".
"The bottom line is that anyone who still supports the failed and flawed concept of physical force republicanism has nothing positive to offer anyone and is on a road to nowhere," he said.
"All this ideology ever did was fill the jails and fill the graveyards, destroying lives and communities in the process.
“I would like to wish the injured officer a speedy recovery and would urge the authorities to be very mindful what kind of protests they facilitate near our prisons in future, not least in the midst of the current pandemic.”
A police spokesperson said the injured officer was not in a serious condition but was unable to work yesterday.
Last week, Justice Minister Naomi Long said Dr Bassalat was going through the normal coronavirus-checking procedure of entering isolation on his return to prison.
