Families concerned over hunger strike

Seanan Hayden, the daughter of Gary Hayden, said her father was in ‘high spirits’ but his family was concerned.

“As families, this is obviously a very worrying time for us,” she told a vigil in the Bogside this week. “We know when our loved ones phone us, they are in high spirits and, as is typical of them, they convince us of how well they’re doing. This does not stop us worrying.”

Mr. Hayden was remanded in custody last month after appearing in court on charges relating to a police operation against the ‘New IRA.’

He is among dozens of republican prisoners, including fellow Derry men Joe Barr and Paddy McDaid, who are currently on hunger strike at Maghaberry, Portlaoise and Hydebank. The protest started on September 16 after Dr. Issam Hijjawi, a 62-year-old doctor, was removed from the republican wing at Maghaberry. The Irish Republican Prisoners’ Welfare Association, which is associated with the hardline republican party, Saoradh, have complained that the conditions in Foyle House, where Dr. Hijjawi is being held, are ‘squalid.’

The Northern Ireland Prison Service told the ‘Journal’ Dr. Hijjawi had been placed in a Covid-19 Isolation Unit after a visit to Craigavon Hospital in order to prevent the spread of coronavirus in the jail.

“If the prisoner does not develop Covid symptoms, he will return to Roe House on Tuesday,” said NIPS.