Yesterday’s article in the Guardian highlighted a number of British citizens who are being arbitrarily detained abroad and at risk of human rights abuses – Alaa Abd el-Fattah, Jimmy Lai, Ryan Cornelius, Mehran Raoof and Jagtar Singh Johal. Quite rightly, there have been a number of other media reports recently focused on the specific circumstances of some of these cases, including where the right to independent legal advice is being prevented and where their health and welfare are in jeopardy.

As a UK charity, Prisoners Abroad’s mission is to protect, support and advocate for the health, welfare and human rights of British citizens in prison overseas, and there are some British citizens who find themselves arbitrary detained.

To Prisoners Abroad, arbitrary detention is the detention of an individual in a case in which there is no good legal basis for the detention, or where due process of law has not been followed. Arbitrary detention can include people who are: 

• arrested or detained without explanation of the reasons or charges;
• detained for legitimate exercise of human rights, such as free speech or free assembly; or detention for discriminatory reasons;
• detained for a long time without being brought before a judge, or coming to trial;
• kept in prison beyond their release date without a clear reason.

Prisoners Abroad’s frontline support is available to every British citizen and their families from the moment they are arrested overseas, including to those who are arbitrarily detained, but the level of support we can practically provide will depend on the possibility of contact, whether directly or via the British government and consular staff from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO). In some cases, it can be incredibly challenging or impossible to make contact with people who are arbitrarily detained. We therefore welcome a focus on these individuals and their circumstances.

Last year we supported 1,156 British people in prison overseas. Many of the people we support face the daunting prospect of years in prison, sometimes thousands of miles away from home in a country where they don’t speak the language. Our focus is then on ensuring they have access to our life-saving support so that they survive with dignity, face the future with hope and can rebuild their lives and desist from crime after release and return to the UK.

The people we support often tell us that without the interest or involvement of consular staff, they would be at greater risk of torture, mistreatment and other abuses of their human rights.  A visit, phone call or letter from UK government officials can show local authorities that someone outside of the prison is aware of the person’s situation and concerned for their welfare.

In January this year we supported a legal right to consular assistance because, for British citizens detained overseas, this assistance is absolutely vital to safeguarding their welfare and human rights. We were pleased to see the incoming government’s pledge to make consular assistance a right for British nationals in cases of human rights violations, and we look forward to working with the government in making that a reality.

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Notes

1. Prisoners Abroad is a UK-based human rights and welfare charity providing humanitarian aid, advice and emotional support to British people affected by overseas imprisonment. As a charity we will always seek to provide support to any British citizen in prison overseas where they have requested it and where we are able to provide it.
2. Prisoners Abroad assists British citizens during their incarceration, supports them to rebuild their lives and desist from crime after release and return to the UK, and also supports their family and friends throughout the trauma.
3. Our comment supporting a legal right to consular assistance is available here.
4. The support we can provide to people in prison overseas and their families is set out on our website.
5. Prisoners Abroad is non-judgmental and helps British citizens who are convicted or unconvicted, guilty or innocent, solely on the basis of need.
6. Prisoners Abroad does not campaign on behalf of individuals against convictions or prison sentences.
7. To maintain confidentiality, unless we have the specific permission of an individual, we do not confirm whether or not we are supporting an individual.

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