I'm republishing here the important response from Jo Murphy Lawless of the Elephant Collective to the inquest verdict of "medical misadventure" for Nayyab Tariq.
 
We fought long and hard in the Dáil to have the new coroner's bill implemented and to have mandatory inquests in cases of maternal death.
 
This recent tragedy shows just how important that was and continues to be.
 

- The rates of committal to prison for women are increasing overall
- Even though women are more likely to be charged with non-violent crime - typically shop-lifting, receiving stolen goods and non-payment of fines - the rate of their being held in prison on remand is higher than for men
- Committal to prison for non-payment of fines alone has been escalating dramatically
- Women are commonly being sent to prison for very short sentences – 75% of women sent to prison in 2018 were serving three months or less
- All three major categories of crime committed by women centre on the root problem of living in poverty
- The SVP report estimates that the annual cost to the state of NOT dealing with the consequences of poverty ranges between €3bn and €7.2bn
I was honoured today to stand shoulder to shoulder with exiled Catalan leaders and colleagues on the steps of the European Parliament, to present this letter signed by 250 parliamentarians demanding amnesty for Catalan prisoners and exiles. Spain must heed the call, end its repression, honour its democratic obligations and enter dialogue. #CatalanAmnesty https://www.eucatplatform.eu/letter-on-amnesty/

Two years to the day since Julian #Assange was arrested and the US indictment he had always feared was finally unsealed. Two years in jail and counting, for the crime of telling the truth. #FreeAssangeNow.
I recently spoke about this ongoing travesty, and the danger to us all.
The real story of our trip to Iraq...