Convicted killer Frederick ‘Freddie’ Thompson’s High Court challenge over the conditions of his detention at Portlaoise Prison was adjourned at the last minute following an application by his lawyers. He has been detained since March 2018 in Wing A4 of Portlaoise Prison, which is known as the punishment block. He claims that prior to his move to Portlaoise Prison he had always been housed within the general prison population. The Governor and the Irish Prison Service denied that Thompson prison regime is oppressive, and the regime meets all the statutory requirements. In a sworn statement grounding his action, Thompson said that he had been informally told that his move to Portlaoise was due to a perceived feud with another prisoner Brian Rattigan.

Source: The Irish Times October 02, 2019 15:11 UTC