Prisoner Release – 1998

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Prisoner Release – 1998

1998

Intermediate Implementation Intermediate implementation

As provided in the accord, British government introduced a bill to release prisoners and the bill had a second reading on 10 June 1998. The bill, Northern Ireland (Sentences) Act 1998, received Royal Assent on 28 July 1998. According to this bill, prisoners affiliated with paramilitary organizations that had established and maintained “a complete and unequivocal case-fire (Article 8 (a) and (b)) are eligible for release. The bill also established The Sentence Review Commission (Article 7) to assess cases on an individual basis.[fn]”Northern Ireland (Sentences) Act 1998,” July 28, 1998, http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1998/35/pdfs/ukpga_19980035_en.pdf.[… The Sentence Review Commission was co-chaired by a South African human rights lawyer, Brain Currin, and a retired senior NIO civil servant, Sir John Blelloch.2 It was estimated that between 400 and 420 paramilitary prisoners will be able to apply for early release.3 Prisoner release was a hotly contested issue in the peace process as the Unionists maintained that the release would take place along with disarmament.4 Nevertheless, as of October 1998, a total of 167 prisoners were released.5

  2. “The Good Friday Agreement — Prisoners,” BBC News, http://www.bbc.co.uk/northernireland/schools/agreement/policing/prisoner…

    On 30 July 1998, as required by the 1998 Act, the Secretary of State of Northern Ireland specified supporters of the Continuity Irish Republican Army, the Loyalist Volunteer Force, the Irish National Liberation Army, and the Real Irish Republican Army not eligible for release because they did not maintain a complete and unequivocal ceasefire. On 18 November 1998, the Loyalist Volunteer Force was removed from the list.1“Sentence Review Commissions Annual report 2001,” http://www.sentencereview.org.uk/download/ar01.pdf, accessed 1 February 2013.

  3. “Terrorists Free Within Weeks,” Daily Record, August 6, 1998.
  4. “Unionist Conference: Trimble’s vision of a new Northern Ireland deserves support,” Belfast Telegraph, October 23, 1998.
  5. Keesing’s Record of World Events (Volume 44), October 1998, 42571.