We have been made aware of a man being held in HMP Humber, experiencing severe mental health issues and being harrassed and bullied by prison officers. James (not his real name) has been diagnosed with frontal lobe epilepsy and depression. Since arriving at the prison he has been denied any medication for these health conditions. He has also regularly been denied essential hygiene items and opportunities to wash his clothes.
Instead of being offered support for his mental health needs, James has become a target for bullying and harassment by prison officers, who have been entertaining themselves by antagonising James and by attempting to create conflicts between him and other prisoners. This is having a severe impact on James’ mental health, worsening his depression and causing him to self-harm.
This is not the first time issues have been raised about the treatment of prisoners by staff at HMP Humber. In 2018, “official inspectors criticised HMP Humber, a Category C prison [...], for 206 “use of force” incidents in the previous six months, “more than at . . . other category C training prisons””. Of prisoners surveyed by the HM Inspectorate of Prisons in 2018, 48% said they had experienced bullying by staff.
James’ sister has asked us to take action as a last resort. She has exhausted every possible avenue for getting James the help he needs, contacting prison staff, the prison governor, the Independent Monitoring Board, the prison healthcare team and James’ GP. No action has been taken by the prison and James’ sister is now extremely fearful for his mental health and physical wellbeing.
James wants to be transferred to a different prison, away from the officers who have been harassing him, so he can access the healthcare he needs and complete the rest of his sentence. Both James and his sister have asked numerous times for him to be transferred to HMP Buckley Hall, another category C prison within a reasonable distance from his family.
How you can help:
Write to the governor of HMP Humber, Marcella Goligher to demand that James is transferred to HMP Buckley Hall immediately and provided with medication for his health conditions. marcella.goligher@hmps.gsi.gov.uk
Write to the Secretary of State for Justice, Robert Buckland, to demand that James is transferred to HMP Buckley Hall immediately and provided with medication for his health conditions. https://contact-moj.service.justice.gov.uk/
Tweet HMP Humber and let them know what you think of how they treat people with mental health needs. @HMP_Humber
Please note: we are using a fake name for this action alert, to protect James and his family. However, the Prisoner Solidarity Network has contacted the prison and the Ministry of Justice about this issue, using James’ real name and prison number. This means that it will be clear to both the prison and the Ministry of Justice who your email is referring to, even if they won't admit it!
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