The family of veteran republican Marian Price have accused the authorities of breaching her human rights by refusing her compassionate parole following the death of her sister Dolours.
They were last night (Friday) preparing to legally challenge the decision. It is understood Price's lawyers
will seek leave to apply for a judicial review.
Belfast Crown Court yesterday granted bail to Price (58) but the Parole Commissioners later
refused to free her.
Price's husband, Jerry McGlinchey, said: "We were told Marian was refused bail because of the
nature of the crime for which she is imprisoned and the high security risk she poses.
"Given her health problems, it's laughable to suggest she poses a security or flight risk. My wife
wasn't even asking to attend the funeral. She just wanted to be released for a few hours to go to
the wake.
"Marian isn't able to walk. She would have been taken from hospital in a wheel-chair. How on
earth can a woman in that condition be a security threat?"
Mr McGlinchey said his wife was "distraught" at the decision: "She is in tears. She hadn't seen
Dolours for the 20 months she has been imprisoned and wanted to say goodbye."
Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams also called for Price to be released. He said: "Marian Price should
not be in jail, she is ill and now she is grieving. That she should be considered a security risk is,
frankly, ridiculous.
"She is unjustly and wrongfully incarcerated and I call for her release immediately."
Price – who is being treated for severe depression, arthritis, and lung problems – is being held in
Belfast City Hospital's psychiatric unit. Her health deteriorated after a year in solitary confinement
in Maghaberry jail and a court has heard she is too ill to stand trial.
Dolours Price (61) was found dead in her Co Dublin home on Wednesday. Her funeral will take
place in St Agnes Church in West Belfast on Monday.
The sisters were part of an IRA unit which bombed London in 1973. They served seven years in
prison.
Marian Price's licence was revoked after she held a statement from which a masked Real IRA man
read at a republican rally in Derry in April 2011. She was charged with encouraging support for a
paramilitary organisation.
Judge David McFarland yesterday granted her bail to attend her sister's funeral but added that the
ultimate decision on whether she should be released lay with the Parole Commissioners.
