Boy, 15, locked in ‘inhuman’ solitary confinement for months awarded £31,500
A young man with mental health problems who was kept in ‘inhuman’ solitary confinement in prison for nearly two months when he was a schoolboy has been awarded more than £30,000 in damages.
The boy, identified as AB, was locked in his cell for more than 23 hours a day for at least the first 55 days of his detention in Feltham prison in west London between December 2016 and February 2017.
Then just 15, he received no education, had no contact with any other child and was allowed out of his cell for around half an hour a day, only to shower, use the phone or exercise.
AB, now in his early twenties, claimed his treatment breached article 3 of the European convention on human rights, which states: ‘No-one shall be subjected to torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.’
He brought the case to the European Court of Human Rights, but the application was struck out after a settlement with the Government was reached. The Government has paid £31,500 in damages.
Earlier rulings at the High Court, the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court found in the Government’s favour on the breach of article 3.
The boy, now in his early twenties, has learning difficulties and had a statement of special educational needs.
Andrea Coomber KC, chief executive of the Howard League for Penal Reform, which represented him, said: ‘AB was only 15-years-old when he was locked in a cell in Feltham prison, getting out for barely an hour a day, deprived of education and unable to see another child for weeks on end.
‘In the seven years since, we have seen four prime ministers, seven justice secretaries and 10 prisons ministers, but the Government has refused repeatedly to acknowledge that this shameful solitary confinement of a boy with complex needs amounted to inhuman or degrading treatment – until now.
‘Settling at such a late stage, and on terms limited to the particular circumstances of one case, is particularly cynical when we know that there are other children in prison being forced to endure horrendous conditions of solitary confinement today.
‘Indeed, prisons holding children are in a worse state now than they were when this legal battle began.
‘Prison is no place for a child. Now that this case is over, and as AB begins the next chapter in his life, we urge ministers to come forward with a plan to ensure that no more children suffer in this way.’
AB said: ‘It shouldn’t have taken them that long, and for them to have changed their mind at the last minute, it is not fair.
‘Separation is horrible. For rehabilitation and communication, people skills are a big thing. By them not letting me see children, taking that away, it is hindering your potential to stay out when you get out.’
Kim Jong-un reboots plans for his very own Benidorm 'to tempt Brits to North Korea'A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: ‘Separation can be necessary in some cases to prevent someone seriously hurting themselves or others, but we accept there was a breach in this particular case.
‘We are overhauling education services and providing tailored mental health support to give every child in our care the tools to turn their backs on crime for good.’
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