In a landmark legal ruling, a High Court judge has found that two senior UK government ministers breached human rights law through their treatment of a prisoner with known mental health issues who was held in prolonged segregation.
Prolonged Isolation in Woodhill Prison
Justice Secretary David Lammy and his predecessor Shabana Mahmood were found to have contravened Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which prohibits inhuman or degrading treatment. The case centres on Sahayb Abu, a convicted terrorist serving a life sentence at HMP Woodhill in Milton Keynes.
Abu was confined to his cell for 22 hours each day and prevented from associating with other inmates for more than four months. This extreme segregation followed an alleged attack on prison officers by Hashem Abedi, brother of the Manchester Arena bomber, at HMP Frankland in April.
Known Mental Health Issues Ignored
Mr Justice Sheldon ruled that both ministers should have considered Abu's existing mental health conditions before authorising his move to even more restrictive conditions. The prisoner was already being held in a separation centre - designed for inmates considered at risk of radicalising others - before being moved to solitary confinement.
In his written judgment, Justice Sheldon stated: "In the context of a prisoner who has a history of trauma and where there was a failure to obtain an assessment of his needs even though he was known to have mental health issues, and a failure to provide him with any therapeutic treatment to address his trauma, a contravention of article 3 is made out."
The judge emphasised that Abu suffered "much more severe" psychological harm than the inevitable distress caused by segregation, developing post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of his treatment.
Growing Scrutiny of Separation Centres
This case represents the first instance where ministers have been found in breach of Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights. The ruling comes amid increasing scrutiny of separation centres within the UK prison system.
According to the judgment, only 12 prisoners are currently housed in such facilities. However, research cited by Mrs Justice Hill in a related case warned that "small group isolation regimes can produce serious and adverse psychological effects similar to solitary confinement."
In January, the High Court separately found that the decision to place Denny De Silva in a separation centre was unlawful, as it relied on unproven allegations of radicalisation activities.
An independent commission established by the Bingham Centre for the Rule of Law has recently highlighted the "limited research evidence and evaluation of the effectiveness of separation centres" within the UK prison system.
The judge has indicated he will consider whether damages are appropriate in Abu's case at a later date.
