Róisín Elizabeth McAliskey (born 1971) is the daughter of

Irish republican Irish republicanism ( ga, poblachtánachas Éireannach) is the political movement for the unity and independence of Ireland under a republic. Irish republicans view British rule in any part of Ireland as inherently illegitimate. The develop ...

activist

Bernadette Devlin McAliskey Josephine Bernadette McAliskey (née Devlin; born 23 April 1947), usually known as Bernadette Devlin or Bernadette McAliskey, is an Irish civil rights leader, and former politician. She served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Mid Ulster in North ...

and Michael McAliskey. She was once accused by German authorities of having been involved in an attack claimed by the

Provisional IRA The Irish Republican Army (IRA; ), also known as the Provisional Irish Republican Army, and informally as the Provos, was an Irish republicanism, Irish republican paramilitary organisation that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland, fa ...

. She was arrested (while four months pregnant) in 1996 on an extradition warrant issued by

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

accusing her of involvement in the

Osnabrück mortar attack The Osnabrück mortar attack was an improvised mortar attack carried out by a Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) unit based in mainland Europe on 28 June 1996 against the British Army's Quebec Barracks at Osnabrück Garrison near Osnabr� ...

against a

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

compound at

Osnabrück Osnabrück (; wep, Ossenbrügge; archaic ''Osnaburg'') is a city in the German state of Lower Saxony. It is situated on the river Hase in a valley penned between the Wiehen Hills and the northern tip of the Teutoburg Forest. With a population ...

. On 2 January 1998, a magistrate cleared her extradition to

. After a long and prominent campaign in which her mother took a leading role supported by many influential citizens, including politicians, from the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...

, the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, British

Home Secretary The secretary of state for the Home Department, otherwise known as the home secretary, is a senior minister of the Crown in the Government of the United Kingdom. The home secretary leads the Home Office, and is responsible for all national ...

Jack Straw John Whitaker Straw (born 3 August 1946) is a British politician who served in the Cabinet from 1997 to 2010 under the Labour governments of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. He held two of the traditional Great Offices of State, as Home Secretary ...

vetoed the extradition on health grounds. She eventually gave birth to a healthy daughter, Loinnir, in England. Due to the nature of the European Arrest Warrant, McAliskey spent 18 months in jail despite never being charged with any crime. Her UK lawyers were unable to view any of the evidence that led to the warrant in Germany and only following discoveries made by a German television programme and the appointment of a German lawyer to examine the files in Germany did it become clear that she had no case to answer. In July 2000, the then Solicitor General in the UK,

Ross Cranston Sir Ross Frederick Cranston (born 23 July 1948) is a professor of Law at London School of Economics and a retired High Court judge. He is also a former British Labour Party politician, and served as the Member of Parliament for Dudley North betw ...

, confirmed to Parliament that the CPS had undertaken an investigation into Róisín McAliskey's case stating "Further to the statement of the Home Secretary on 10 March 1998 that he would not order the extradition of Roisin McAliskey to Germany, the Crown Prosecution Service... has considered whether to prosecute Roisin McAliskey in this country. thas concluded that there is not a realistic prospect of convicting Miss McAliskey for any offence arising out of the Osnabruk bombing."' While not widely reported at the time it was believed that this announcement brought an end to the matter, however that turned out not to be the case. On 21 May 2007, McAliskey was again arrested on the same European Arrest Warrant, the German authorities having sent it back to the UK in October 2006 just as it was due to expire. She was released on bail of £2,500. The extradition bid was denied in November 2007. She also has a son named Michael (after her father), born in 2005.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McAliskey, Roisin 1971 births Fugitives wanted by Germany Irish republicans Living people People from County Tyrone People of The Troubles (Northern Ireland) Women in The Troubles (Northern Ireland)