The Prison Reform Trust has recently published Forgotten Prisoners – the plight of foreign national prisoners in England and Wales, which examines the increasing numbers of foreign nationals being held in British prisons, the problems that they encounter, and the inconsistency of their treatment. Key facts and figures include: 12 per cent of the prison
Theme: Alternative voices on integration
Justice for Jay Abatan – ‘an uphill struggle’
The family of Jay Abatan, a Black man who was murdered in Brighton in 1999, are still waiting to see the report into Sussex Police’s failed investigation into his death. On 17 May 2004, Peter Bottomley MP, Jay’s family and lawyers will meet representatives of the new Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) to discuss the
Mubarek family win inquiry into Zahid’s murder
After years of campaigning by the Mubarek family, David Blunkett has announced that a judicial inquiry will be held into the racist murder of Zahid Mubarek at Feltham Young Offenders Institute. The inquiry will investigate and report to the Home Secretary on Zahid’s death and the events leading up to the attack on him, and
How independent is independent?
For Black and Minority Ethnic communities, the lack of independent scrutiny of the handling of complaints against the police, has been one of the most contentious issues. Will the new Independent Police Complaints Commission be able to win back confidence? On 1 April, the new Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) will begin work handling complaints
Slovakia’s bankruptcy
In just a few weeks, Slovakia will join the European Union. But already, with rioting in the impoverished Roma communities of eastern Slovakia, the country is reeling from the effects of ‘restructuring’. Good news for the Slovak government. South Korean car manufacturer Hyundai has announced that it will build its first European factory in Zilina,
Roma are not safe in Bulgaria
A judgement from the European Court of Human Rights on 26 February, which found Bulgaria guilty of deprivation of life of two Roma, is due to have wide repercussions. It makes a mockery of Bulgaria being considered a safe country where human rights is concerned. Bulgaria is currently on the UK’s White List of countries
Concern at spate of jail deaths
In one eight-day period in February, three young Asian men died while in the custody of British prisons. And all three deaths were, apparently, self-inflicted. Are these deaths signs of a growing crisis of British Asians in the prison system? First, on 20 February, Sajjad Hussein, 20, was found hanged in his cell at Lancaster
Rocky Bennett – killed by institutional racism?
The NHS, and especially its mental health services, have been branded institutionally racist by an inquiry team set up to examine the care and treatment that 38-year-old Rocky Bennett received at the Norvic secure psychiatric clinic in Norwich before he died, in October 1998, after being restrained by up to five nurses. The report, Independent
‘Anti-terrorism’ policing leads to arbitrary use of stop and search
From today, the police will have a host of new powers to stop, search and detain suspects. Is the post-Macpherson concept of ‘intelligence-led’ policing giving way to abuses in the name of ‘anti-terrorism’? The Home Office claims that new powers coming into effect today, under the Criminal Justice Act 2003, are necessary in the fight
Yarl’s Wood update: officer sacked
A security officer at Yarl’s Wood detention centre has been sacked following revelations of racist bullying, exposed by an undercover reporter in December 2003. Following an investigation by the Daily Mirror last year, which documented racist language, a culture of violence in training sessions and staff boasting of their brutal treatment of detainees, three security