internment

Detention of suspected criminals without trial. Foreign citizens are often interned during times of war or civil unrest.

internment

Detention of suspected criminals without trial. Internment had been practised since the 18th century in times of crisis under the suspension of the writ of habeus corpus. In the 20th century a number of public order and security acts were passed by the UK or Irish governments, making provision for internment after the Easter Rising in 1916, and during the Anglo-Irish War, the Irish Civil War, and the Irish Republican Army (IRA) bombing campaigns of World War II and 1957–62. In 1971 internment was reintroduced by the UK government for the detention of people suspected of terrorist acts in Northern Ireland. The practice was suspended in December 1978, and the legislation for internment lapsed in 1980.