from IAIS: MOWLAM MAY SUPPORT BAIL FOR H-BLOCK THREE Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit MOWLAM MAY SUPPORT BAIL FOR H-BLOCK THREE 02/02/98 22:45 EST The London Times has reported that the NIO (Northern Ireland Office) has privately indicated that it is in favour of bail for three IRA prisoners imprisoned in America while they await the outcome of appeals against extradition back to the province. Mo Mowlam, the Northern Ireland Secretary, has signalled that the release of Kevin Barry Artt, Paul Brennan and Terry Kirby, should be considered as part of confidence-building measures to underpin the peace process. The revelation has angered Unionist politicians with Ken Maginnis, the Ulster Unionist MP, accusing Mowlam of interfering in the American judicial process. The three Belfast men were among the 38 IRA prisoners who escaped from the Maze prison outside Belfast in 1983. They have been in custody since August last year when a San Francisco judge ordered their extradition. They had been on bail previously, but the judge refused to release them again while they await the outcome of an appeal hearing. Lawyers who represented the British government at the case supported their imprisonment. __________________________________________________________ The Irish American Information Service is a non-profit organization providing up-to-the-minute political news from Ireland to the world. The IAIS is funded entirely by your contributions. Please send your tax-deductable contributions to IAIS at the National Press Building, 529 14th Street NW, Suite 837, Washington, DC 20045. You can visit us on the Web at http://www.iais.org ================================================================= 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-02.03.98-12:24:30-13309