Category: HMP Wakefield

  • Campaigners Anti-Carceral Solidarity (ACS) have made allegations of Islamophobic assaults at HMP Full Sutton.

    These latest allegations come after The Canary reported on the continued allegations of racist abuse at HMP Wakefield on 23 November. Since publishing that article, ACS report that one of the men mentioned, Dwayne Fulgence, has since been transferred to HMP Frankland.

    ACS says prison authorities transferred Dwayne without any notice. It claims this transfer is in “direct retaliation” for its protest outside Wakefield prison on 21 November.

    A litany of abuse

    Campaigners allege that Mr Ahmed has faced persistent abuse in HMP Full Sutton. ACS claims this occurred between November 2019 and 2021. It told The Canary there’s a:

    deep level of racism and Islamophobia at Full Sutton.

    On 21 November they listed several examples. These examples include one person:

    currently held captive at Full Sutton who has been experiencing racist violence and threats at the hands of the govenors and guards, as well as other prisoners (who the prison ignore or actively encourage to avoid accountability)

    Then between November 2019 and sometime in 2021, they say Mr Ahmed was subject to different forms of abuse including:

    • Being attacked with a nine inch weapon.
    • Being transferred to a segregation unit where prison authorities denied him writing materials, shower facilities and prayer books.
    • Accusing Mr Ahmed and those who associate with him of terrorism.
    • Not properly treating his broken arm.
    • Withholding letters from him and barring him from communication with his next of kin.
    • Taking his property and returning some in a broken state.

    Persistent abuse?

    This isn’t the first time allegations of abuse have been made against HMP Full Sutton. In April this year, The Canary’s Tom Anderson wrote that Dwayne was assaulted and subsequently abused in the segregation unit at HMP Full Sutton:

    A police complaint has been made after Dwayne Fulgence was left bleeding on the floor of his cell in HMP Full Sutton’s Segregation Unit. Fulgence was reportedly not given medical treatment for a considerable time after the attack. The Canary has been told he’s effectively been denied food since the attack.

    This is the latest in a long line of abuse allegations made against prison staff across several jails. On each occasion, The Canary has contacted the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) for comment. The MOJ denies allegations of abuse, racism and Islamophobia. It also denies any wrongdoing. However, it has admitted to the use of restraint in relation to an incident at Belmarsh although it also claimed that its use was “proportionate”.

    In relation to the new allegations in this article, The Canary once again contacted the Ministry of Justice. A spokesperson said:

    All claims are investigated. We have a zero tolerance for discrimination in our prisons and will not hesitate to take action where necessary.

    Campaigner says they:

    will be continuing to work alongside our friends inside, where ever they get transferred until they are free

    Featured image via Wikimedia Commons – Édouard Hue

    By Peadar O'Cearnaigh

    This post was originally published on The Canary.

  • In September and October this year, The Canary published stories of alleged racism and Islamophobia in UK prisons. One of the prisons we mentioned was HMP Wakefield. Now prison solidarity campaigners have made further allegations of racist violence being committed by prison staff.

    On 21 November, prison solidarity campaign group Anti-Carceral Solidarity (ACS) protested outside HMP Wakefield:

    to demand an end to racist and inhumane treatment of prisoners kept in the segregation unit.

    ACS alleges:

    In the last month, prison guards have physically assaulted Black and Jewish prisoners, denied them access to food and letters, and encouraged one prisoner to attempt suicide.

    Allegations of abuse

    ACS says:

    Michael Peters, a Black Jewish prisoner at HMP Wakefield, was assaulted by guards at least three times in his cell in segregation in October. As a result of this violent treatment, his mental health deteriorated and he became suicidal, making at attempt on his life on 25 October.

    On 29 October, Peters was taken off close medical supervision, though he had told officers that he was still suicidal. Prison guards destroyed Peters’ possessions, including a television and kosher food that he requires as a practising Jew, and denied him access to the canteen, in what friends are calling acts of punishment for his suicide attempt.

    ACS report that Gary, a campaigner and friend of Peters, said:

    There is a clear pattern of medical neglect and abuse in the segregation unit at HMP Wakefield, targeted at Black and Jewish prisoners. Staff at HMP Wakefield are not only subjecting prisoners to the torture of solitary confinement, but also pushing them to suicide. This racist and inhumane abuse is not only wrong, it’s illegal.

    The solidarity campaign group claims:

    The prison has also denied Peters, Shaqueille Plummer and Dwayne Fulgence – all Black prisoners – access to books and letters sen[t] to them, which campaigners have said [is] an attempt to isolate these men and take away materials vital to survival in the conditions of solitary confinement.

    Anthony Snow also made a suicide attempt in the segregation unit at HMP Wakefield in September and too has experienced severe medical neglect from the prison.

    This appears to be common

    Allegations of such attacks on minorities in UK prisons are not uncommon. On 8 September, The Canary’s Tom Anderson wrote:

    Muslim prisoners are subjected to systemic violence within the prison system. Just this year, The Canary has reported several alleged racist attacks on Muslim prisoners – coupled with the mistreatment and abuse of another – at HMP Full Sutton and Long Lartin. CAPE [Community Action on Prison Expansion] allege that one individual prison officer has carried out three attacks on Black prisoners who are practising Muslims at HMP Long Lartin over the past nine months.

    According to CAPE, 15% of the UK’s prison population is Muslim despite Muslims making up just 5% of the total population. In Close Supervision Centres where prisoners face the “most restrictive conditions” seen in the UK prison system, around half of prisoners are Muslim.

    34% of those who died in police custody – the majority of whom died in prison – are of Middle-Eastern or Asian origin.

    ACS also highlighted an alleged attack by prison staff at HMP Belmarsh:

    In September, the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) denied the initial allegations of racism and Islamophobia at its prisons. It then refused to comment any further. The Canary contacted the MOJ for comment on these more recent allegations. A prison service spokesperson denied the allegations made about Belmarsh, though did say whilst restraint had been used in two cases, its use was proportionate. In relation to the allegations made about Wakefield, they stated:

    All claims are investigated. We have a zero tolerance for discrimination in our prisons and will not hesitate to take action where necessary.

    Prison conditions at Wakefield

    The chief inspector of prisons carried out an unannounced inspection of HMP Wakefield in June 2018. And while It found “HMP Wakefield to be an essentially respectful prison, with many examples of good relationships and interactions between staff and prisoners”, it also found:

    that black and minority ethnic prisoners had a poorer perception of their treatment and conditions than their white counterparts. These negative perceptions needed to be understood. Until this happened there would be no way of knowing whether the negative perceptions were justified or not, and even if they were not, the negative perceptions themselves needed to be taken seriously and addressed.

    In relation to use of force, the inspection found it “had increased” and in one case was “disproportionate”:

    Use of force had increased since our previous inspection and was comparatively high, although one prisoner accounted for a disproportionate number of incidents. Over a third of incidents had taken place in the segregation unit. Documentation was reasonably well completed and gave a good account of what had happened, but was not routinely reviewed by senior managers.

    That report noted that the segregation unit “was clean and cells contained adequate furniture and little graffiti”. However, it felt some people remained there too long:

    Six prisoners had been segregated for more than seven months, with the longest for over 14 months. Exit plans took too long to implement and prisoners’ physical and mental well-being was negatively affected, especially if they had pre-existing mental health problems. Prisoners requiring transfer to hospital under the Mental Health Act also waited too long to be transferred and some very acutely ill prisoners had faced excessive delays.

    Additionally, it found the frequency with which people could shower to be “unacceptable”:

    While the number of those segregated had reduced, a considerable number of prisoners remained in the unit for too long, for an average of more than five months. While it was positive that an hour of exercise was offered every day, showers were generally provided only every three days, which was unacceptable.

    Hear our voice

    ACS and others help to amplify the voices of those suffering on the inside. This is what one of those voices in the segregation unit wanted to say:

    The world needs to hear about what’s happening to us in here.

    Featured image via – Anti-Carceral Solidarity

    By Peadar O'Cearnaigh

    This post was originally published on The Canary.

  • Last week, The Canary published allegations of racism and rising Islamophobia in two UK prisons, HMP Long Lartin and HMP Wakefield.

    A demonstration was held in solidarity with prisoners at HMP Wakefield on Saturday 11 September. The crowd can be heard chanting “Black Lives Matter”, and then – hauntingly – the prisoners inside begin chanting the same slogan:

    Muslim prisoners in the Segregation Unit allegedly denied basic necessities

    Campaigners say the prisoners’ chants were coming from HMP Wakefield’s Segregation Unit, commonly know as ‘the Seg’. Last week The Canary reported allegations that Muslim prisoners in HMP Wakefield’s Segregation Unit – as well as at HMP Long Lartin – were being subjected to abuse and denied basic necessities. A statement from Community Action on Prison Expansion (CAPE) alleged:

    One man is on 7 man unlock. This means 7 officers with shields enter each time his cell is opened and he is required to stand at the back of his cell in a certain position, or be attacked by 7 armed officers.

    Others are being denied the most basic necessities. Someone has been denied hot water and blankets, and hasn’t been allowed to leave his cell to use the shower or exercise. He has not been seen outside his cell for a month.

    Someone else was refused his right to a shower and exercise because there was a female officer on the wing. However other prisoners reported there were in fact 6 male officers on the wing

    When officers are challenged they retaliate with nickings [allegations of breaking prison rules]. One person’s access to his money has been cut off – the only way he is able to purchase edible food and phone credit to maintain contact with his support network.

    All of these prisoners are practicing Muslims.

    Systemic racism

    Last week, The Canary also reported:

    Muslim prisoners are subjected to systemic violence within the prison system. Just this year, The Canary has reported several alleged racist attacks on Muslim prisoners – coupled with the mistreatment and abuse of another – at HMP Full Sutton and Long Lartin. CAPE allege that one individual prison officer has carried out three attacks on Black prisoners who are practising Muslims at HMP Long Lartin over the past nine months.

    According to CAPE, 15% of the UK’s prison population is Muslim despite Muslims making up just 5% of the total population. In Close Supervision Centres where prisoners face the “most restrictive conditions” seen in the UK prison system, around half of prisoners are Muslim.

    34% of those who died in police custody – the majority of whom died in prison – are of Middle-Eastern or Asian origin.

    Black Lives Matter

    The demonstration on 11 September was in protest at these conditions, and in solidarity with those incarcerated at HMP Wakefield. One prisoner at HMP Wakefield – who preferred to remain anonymous – told campaigners:

    It has really uplifted everyone. We are really proud of the demonstration and very happy about it. We had a great time!

    We need more people to get in contact and get involved.

    Response from the Ministry of Justice

    Throughout 2021, The Canary has reported on allegations of racism at UK prisons. The response from the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) has always been a flat, outright denial.

    Last week, we asked the MOJ Press Office to comment on the specific allegations of Islamophobia at HMP Wakefield. At the time a Prison Service spokesperson said:

    All claims are investigated. We have a zero tolerance for discrimination in our prisons and will not hesitate to take action where necessary.

    We informed the MOJ that we were writing this story, but they told us the press office would make no further comment on the allegations of Islamophobia and racism.

    The MOJ has consistently chosen to outright deny allegations of racism and violence by prison officers, rather than engaging with the details of any of the allegations being made by prisoners. This culture of denial shows an inherent disregard for the lived experience of prisoners.

    Effective organising on both sides of the walls

    Saturday’s demonstration is an example of how incarcerated and non-incarcerated people can work together to fight the systemic racism and violence of the prison system. The MOJ’s wall of silence over campaigners’ allegations illustrates the way that the carceral system relies on keeping the public in the dark over what’s going on in UK prisons. But, our solidarity and our organising can find ways to bypass their walls and challenge the oppression of the prison system.

    Featured image provided to The Canary by Anti-Carceral Solidarity (with permission)

    By Tom Anderson

    This post was originally published on The Canary.

  • Several allegations of Islamophobia and racism in UK prisons have been made in the past weeks. Campaigners are linking increased reports of Islamophobia to recent events in Afghanistan.

    Racist and Islamophobic violence against prisoners is common, but one prisoner at HMP Long Lartin told Community Action on Prison Expansion (CAPE):

    the screws [prison officers] have upped their racism towards Muslims because of what is going on in Afghanistan. Some of them served there.

    Prison abolition campaigners tweeted:

    Prison officers allegedly interrupt Muslim call to prayer

    At HMP Long Lartin, Muslim prisoners conducting a call to prayer were allegedly interrupted by prison officers. CAPE wrote:

    Muslim prisoners were interrupted during the call to prayer by officers banging on the door saying they were enforcing noise pollution rules.

    A non-Muslim officer told [a prisoner named] Miran, “you don’t have to do call to prayer, you only do that at the mosque”.

    When Miran told the officer not to explain his religion to him, the Officer gave him a nicking [a prison disciplinary procedure] for threatening abusive language/ behaviour.

    CAPE also said that “officers are using their power to harm prisoners who are practicing Muslims” at another prison, HMP Wakefield. According to a statement by the group:

    One man is on 7 man unlock. This means 7 officers with shields enter each time his cell is opened and he is required to stand at the back of his cell in a certain position, or be attacked by 7 armed officers.

    Others are being denied the most basic necessities. Someone has been denied hot water and blankets, and hasn’t been allowed to leave his cell to use the shower or exercise. He has not been seen outside his cell for a month.

    Someone else was refused his right to a shower and exercise because there was a female officer on the wing. However other prisoners reported there were in fact 6 male officers on the wing

    When officers are challenged they retaliate with nickings [allegations of breaking prison rules]. One person’s access to his money has been cut off – the only way he is able to purchase edible food and phone credit to maintain contact with his support network.

    All of these prisoners are practicing Muslims.

    Prisoner complains of being treated like “a monkey and a slave”

    CAPE say that they have received an email from the governor of HMP Wakefied denying the allegations of Islamophobia at the prison and claiming that the prisoners here are being treated with dignity and respect”.

    But CAPE reports that since the governor’s denial of its allegations, a Muslim prisoner named Michael Peters has been “rushed” by a group of officers in the prison after asking “why he was being treated like he was a monkey and a slave”.

    Retaliation for those that speak out

    The reports from CAPE paint a picture which shows that those who speak out against the racialised violence of the prison system face violent retaliation.

    The Canary has previously reported that a Muslim prisoner named Kevan Thakrar was placed in the Segregation Unit at HMP Full Sutton earlier this year after he spoke out against the prison authorities.

    Similarly, Kevan’s brother Miran was reportedly placed in HMP Long Lartin’s Segregation Unit as a punishment for protesting against the prison officers allegedly preventing Muslims from conducting a call to prayer.

    Earlier this year, The Canary reported that a police complaint had been made after Dwayne Fulgence – another Muslim prisoner – was left bleeding on the floor on his cell after an alleged attack by officers. Since then Dwayne has been moved to HMP Wakefield, but authorities have denied him access to his possessions. According to one campaigner:

    Dwayne has been denied his property since he’s been in Wakefield, for at at least 6 weeks. He can’t see because his glasses are broken and the prescription is in his property. His incoming and outgoing mail is being withheld and his apps to get people onto his visitors list are just being ignored. They are really trying to isolate him.

    Campaigners claim that the treatment of both Dwayne and Kevan is in retaliation for speaking out against racist attacks on prisoners. CAPE says that Dwayne’s treatment amounts to “psychological torture” after he stood “up to racist physical abuse from officers”.

    The Canary asked the Ministry of Justice’s press office for a comment on the allegations referred to in this article. A Prison Service spokesperson said:

    “All claims are investigated. We have a zero tolerance for discrimination in our prisons and will not hesitate to take action where necessary.”

    A pattern of racism and abuse

    However, Muslim prisoners are subjected to systemic violence within the prison system. Just this year, The Canary has reported several alleged racist attacks on Muslim prisoners – coupled with the mistreatment and abuse of another – at HMP Full Sutton and Long Lartin. CAPE allege that one individual prison officer has carried out three attacks on Black prisoners who are practising Muslims at HMP Long Lartin over the past nine months.

    According to CAPE, 15% of the UK’s prison population is Muslim despite Muslims making up just 5% of the total population. In Close Supervision Centres where prisoners face the “most restrictive conditions” seen in the UK prison system, around half of prisoners are Muslim.

    34% of those who died in police custody – the majority of whom died in prison – are of Middle-Eastern or Asian origin.

    “we are watching and we will not remain silent”

    Campaigners have pledged not to remain silent against the alleged racist violence taking place behind prison walls. According to CAPE:

    Prison Officers think they can get away with this treatment because they are far away from accountability, behind the prison walls.

    We must let them know we are watching and we will not remain silent.

    They can not continue to torture people with impunity.

    We say: No Justice, no peace.

    Featured image via CAPE (with permission)

    By Tom Anderson

    This post was originally published on The Canary.