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Detainee and prisoner rights
We act for prisoners, those detained under the Mental Health Act and foreign nationals held in detention centres who are receiving inadequate treatment and care, who are unlawfully detained, whose human rights are being breached or who are being unlawfully discriminated against on the grounds of disability.
Examples of recent successes include:
- Acting for a disabled prisoner in a challenge of a prison’s failure to provide him with a motorised wheelchair and allocate him to a disabled cell;
- Acting for a disabled prisoner in a challenge of the Prison Service’s refusal to transfer him to a prison closer to the family home so allowing his family to visit;
- Acting for a prisoner in a challenge of a prison’s refusal to refer him for treatment of his gender dysphoria condition;
- Obtaining compensation for a prisoner’s family for failing to identify or treat a prisoner’s cancer, from which he died;
- Obtaining compensation for a prisoner who suffered eye injuries following a fall, while sedated, from his bunk bed;
- Obtaining compensation for an asylum seeker, subsequently granted permission to remain in the UK, who remained unlawfully detained following the completion of his prison sentence
- Acting for minors whose age is disputed by the Home Office and who were detained unlawfully, securing release from detention and obtaining damages
- Acting for foreign national prisoners held in long terms immigration detention following completion of their sentences pending deportation and securing their release.
News
Successful challenge of unlawful inspection of prisoners’ legal mail-
Leigh Day settles judicial review relating to legal post received by prisoners
We must end the detention of families-
Letter published in Guardian calls on government to end detention of families
Prisoner voting rights-
Application lodged at European Court of Human Rights over prisoner voting
More criticism of Yarl’s Wood-
Prison Inspectorate publishes critical report
Leigh Day instructed by Yarl’s Wood inmates-
Action on behalf of peaceful protesters at immigration centre
Benjamin Burrows publishes article in Learning Disability Today-
This article examines discrimination in the prison system against those with learning disabilities
Sean Humber chairs AvMA conference on prisoner health-
An AvMA conference, Health in custody takes place on 3 November 2009
Disabled prisoner victory-
Human rights team secures compensation for disabled prisoner
Elderly couple forcibly separated-
An elderly couple were forcibly separated and unlawfully imprisoned in a nursing home
Welcome reduction in cost of prisoner telephone calls-
BT will reduce the cost of telephone call in prisons following an OFCOM investigation
Leigh Day shares Prison Chief’s concerns of treatment and care of disabled prisoners-
The Chief Inspector of Prisons has published her annual report
Claim on behalf of deaf prisoner for inadequate treatment and care-
Leigh Day & Co is representing a deaf prisoner who has not received adequate medical treatment and care
False imprisonment and assault of immigration detainees-
Leigh Day represent a family who allege false imprisonment and assault during removal attempts
Home Secretary personally apologises to prisoner’s family-
The bereaved family of a prisoner, whose cancer symptoms were ignored, have received a personal apology from the then Home Secretary, David Blunkett, during a private meeting. The family were represented by human rights solicitor Sean Humber.
