Possible early releases for Irish POWs? Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit source "Edmond J. \(Skip\) O'Neill" Sun, 19 Oct 1997 10:16:09 -0400 Electronic Telegraph Oct 19, 1997 Prison chief 'paves way' for Maze releases By James Hardy and Alan Murray A PRISONS chief known for his liberal approach to paramilitaries has taken charge of the Maze prison in Northern Ireland. Martin Mogg, director of operations in the Northern Ireland prison service, took on the dual role of governor of the jail outside Belfast a fortnight ago. It is the first time that one man has held both positions. The jail became infamous in the early Eighties after a series of hunger strikes and protests by IRA prisoners. Sinn Fein and the loyalist parties involved in political talks in Ulster have made early release - which they see as a confidence-building measure - a key demand of the negotiations. Mr Mogg's appointment has raised fears among Unionists that the Government is preparing to sanction the early release of paramilitaries. The prison service yesterday characterised the appointment of Mr Mogg, 57, as a temporary efficiency measure. But as director of operations, Mr Mogg plays a key role in prison service policy and in parole decisions on the release of prisoners. He spent last Tuesday and Wednesday in a meeting of the life sentence review board, the body that would oversee any release process. Mr Mogg developed close contacts with paramilitaries after the previous ceasefire. He led the 1994 negotiations that saw a relaxation of the strict regime governing the 500 convicted and remand prisoners housed in the H-blocks in the Maze. Free association, an end to head counts of prisoners and a tacit agreement that mobile phones could be used discreetly were among the changes permitted. "He has made a habit of bypassing the relevant governor and going straight into the Maze and negotiating directly with the paramilitaries, sometimes without the knowledge of the governor," one prison service official said. "This appointment is causing grave disquiet. The line manager of the governor of the Maze is the director of operations. He has become his own boss. He has built himself into an unassailable position." A Northern Ireland Office insider said: "When Mr Mogg goes to the Maze things happen. It is political." No firm decisions have been taken on early release but there is a growing expectation among politicians in Belfast that the first prisoners could be freed in the new year if the present ceasefire holds. Robert McCartney, the UK Unionist MP for North Down, said: "This is the preparation for the deal to release prisoners to keep the paramilitaries on board the 'peace train'." Asked if combining the jobs of Maze governor and director of operations was unprecedented, a prison service spokesman said: "We are living in unprecedented times." Mr Mogg, who is English, transferred to Northern Ireland in 1993 after spells as governor of Durham and Northallerton jails. The previous governor of the Maze, John Baxter, took early retirement after he was criticised in an official report into the discovery last March of an escape tunnel built by IRA prisoners. An official statement from the prison service said Mr Mogg was appointed because his experience as a governor equipped him to carry out measures arising from the report into the escape attempt. "Mr Mogg's temporary appointment is an operational one and is in no way connected with any political development," it said. "It is expected that his appointment will last one year." ================================================================= NY Transfer News Collective * A Service of Blythe Systems Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us 339 Lafayette St., New York, NY 10012 http://www.blythe.org e-mail: nyt@blythe.org ================================================================= nytire-10.21.97-00:09:21-17221