A march and rally will take place in Dublin today to highlight the plight of political prisoners on hunger strike in Turkey. The protest, which began last October, has claimed 42 lives.
Up to 1,200 political prisoners have been on hunger strike, protesting in particular at the "F-type" isolation cells introduced by the Turkish government in 1996.
The F-cells were introduced for the imprisonment of people accused and convicted of political or terrorist offences. They have been condemned by Amnesty International and have been the subject of two visits by the Council of Europe's Commission on the Prevention of Torture.
The march begins at the Garden of Remembrance, Parnell Square, Dublin, at 2.30 p.m. and will proceed to the GPO on O'Connell Street, where a rally will take place at about 3 p.m. Speakers will include former hunger striker Mr Dessie Ellis and Ms Mary Doyle, a former republican prisoner who went on hunger strike in Armagh jail.
Other speakers will include Ms Bernadette McAliskey, Mr Michael Og Devine, son of 1981 hunger striker Mickey Devine, Green Party TD Mr Trevor Sargent and Ms Mags Glennon, chairwoman of the Solidarity with Hunger Strikers in Turkey organisation.
See also Weekend supplement with Kitty Holland reporting from Turkey