Rally to be held in Derry this weekend against continued imprisonment of Tony Taylor

A rally will take place this Sunday July 23^rd in opposition to the recent decision by the Northern Ireland Parole Commission to continue Tony Taylor’s detention which is approaching 500 days. 

A procession will leave from the Brandywell Grotto at 2.30pm and make its way to the Guildhall Square in Derry where representatives from the main political parties will address the crowd.

A spokesperson for the Free Tony Taylor campaign said: "The rally is organised by the Derry Free Tony Taylor campaign group which is made up of a diverse group of campaigners ranging from members of the local Stormont parties, Independent Councillors, human rights and social justice activists to members of the local community and voluntary sector.

"We would call on everyone with an interest in human rights and justice to attend Sunday’s rally in solidarity with Tony and the Taylor family.

"Tony was arrested on March 10^th, 2016, in full view of his family whilst on a shopping trip and taken to Maghaberry Prison where he continues to be held today on the signature of the British Secretary of State following the revocation of the release licence he received in 2014.

"The Northern Ireland Office alleged Tony was a risk to the public based on an MI5 assessment, an assessment which clearly does not warrant criminal charges or a trial.

"Three weeks after Tony was returned to prison it was ruled that the original order to detain him was in contravention of article 28 (2) (a) and (b) of the Criminal Justice Order (NI) 2008.

"Tony’s solicitor Aiden Carlin stated that the refusal of the Parole commission to follow recommendations and release Tony at this juncture was in contravention of section six of the Human Rights Act in conjunction with articles 5 (1) and 5 (4) of the European Convention on Human Rights. Tony’s legal team have recently served a High Court Writ on the Secretary of State in a claim for damages arising from his initial 3-week unlawful detention.

"On May 2^nd, 2017, the Parole Commission for Northern Ireland began a four-day review process into Tony’s case which at that point represented an unreasonable delay in context of Article 5 and the Right to Liberty. 

"The review process consisted of one open hearing during which Tony was questioned, two closed proceedings from which Tony and his legal team were excluded and a summary hearing which took place on May 30^th. A judicial review to examine the lawfulness, necessity and proportionality of Tony’s recall is currently being pursued.

"Tony Taylor’s recall is regarded as internment under its latest guise. Internment was used in the 1970s as a repressive tool of the Stormont regime and whilst the name has changed the fundamental fact that people are being denied their liberty in the absence of due process cannot be disputed.

"The Good Friday Agreement of 1998 promised the people of the north a ‘new beginning’, an ‘era in which justice would be done and be seen to be done’ and measures ‘compatible with a normal and Peaceful society.’ The Free Tony Taylor Campaign would take this opportunity to stress that closed court proceedings, MI5 supremacy over policing in the North and internment have no place in any normal or peaceful society.

"We would again call on the British Secretary of State for Northern Ireland James Brokenshire to release Tony Taylor back to his family who continue suffer as a result of his arbitrary and unjust detention."