Category: Covid-19

On the 7th April 2020, RT news interviews Kristinn Hrafnsson.

Conditions in Belmarsh prison, where Julian Assange is held, might be worse than London is willing to admit, WikiLeaks editor-in-chief Kristinn Hrafnsson told RT, adding that Covid-19 could swiftly tear through the facility.

A prison environment is “like a Petri dish” for a virus, Hrafnsson explained, particularly such a highly infectious one as the novel coronavirus, which has already struck more than 1 million people around the world. The max security Belmarsh prison, where the WikiLeaks founder is being kept pending extradition to the US, has just reported its first death from the disease. According to Hrafnsson, there are other worrying signs too.

“We have prison guards going in and out. A third of them at least are not showing up to work either because they have the virus or because they are in isolation.”

He also said he was sure the number of inmates who contracted Covid-19 in Belmarsh is “undoubtedly higher than reported,” since prison authorities have simply not conducted enough tests on the population to “know what is going on exactly.” The situation is particularly alarming for Assange, who was in a rather poor state of health even before the outbreak of the deadly disease, Hrafnsson added.

Assange is in very bad shape. He is a very vulnerable individual, especially to a virus like Covid-19. He has an underlying lung condition and would be considered at great risk even if living normally in society. He is in a situation when his life is in danger every day and every hour.

The Wikileaks editor-in-chief said that British authorities are outright neglecting their duties by leaving Assange — as well as other prisoners — behind bars, given the current circumstances. Hrafnsson also slammed a British judge’s decision to carry on with Assange’s extradition hearing amid the ongoing pandemic, as though nothing has been happening.

The Wikileaks founder is unable to take part in any court sessions now as he has to be moved through the infected prison each time he is about to do that, even via a video link. Assange’s lawyers also have lost all contact with their client for about three weeks at this point, since they cannot visit him prison and cannot talk to him by video chat either, the Wikileaks editor-in-chief said.

On Tuesday, Judge Vanessa Baraitser said it was her intention to hear the bulk of the evidence on May 18, even though the process will likely stretch further to June. Hrafnsson denounced such approach as “just scandalous.”

Assange has already spent almost a year behind bars after Ecuador revoked his asylum and allowed British authorities to drag him out of its embassy in London and arrest him.

The Wikileaks founder is wanted by the US charges of conspiring to hack government computers and breaking espionage laws, and could spend the rest of his life in prison if convicted.Meanwhile, various activists, officials, public figures — including a UN rapporteur on torture — and scores of doctors have repeatedly pointed to Assange’s deteriorating health, warning that he is at serious risk of dying behind bars in the UK.

Read full article in RT News

Other reports on coronavirus in UK Prisons (5th – 7h April)
The Guardian: Coronavirus will thrive in British jails: prisoners face a death sentence
BBC News: Coronavirus: Two Pentonville Prison staff members die
News Shopper: Multiple cases of coronavirus have been confirmed inside Belmarsh Prison, and one inmate has died after contracting the virus.
Daily Mail: Calls for 15,000 prisoners to be freed from UK jails to ease coronavirus crisis – as death toll of inmates hits nine with 107 convicts and 19 staff infected
Express Star: Three were inmates at HMP Littlehey, Cambridgeshire, with others being held at Birmingham, Manchester, Altcourse in Merseyside, Belmarsh in south east London, Whatton in Nottinghamshire and a female prisoner at Low Newton, County Durham.

On the 25th March 2020, Tom reported in WiseUp

The court was 1 hour late to commence, the official told us that they had to get Julian. This reminds me of the December hearing, scheduled for the morning it was rescheduled for the afternoon, we were told that there was a mix up at Belmarsh. When Julian did arrive the prison van was accompanied by an ambulance.

There was a rumour that they put Julian in a hot box prior to these outings to disorient him. Had they over cooked him?

Reports from the court that day Julian was very disoriented and barely able to say his name and date of birth.

Today, is the management at Belmarsh really so incompetent that they could not get him the few meters to the video conferencing room in time? Did he need a bit more time in the oven?

The Judge magistrate announced that the precious resource of video conference time only allowed 15 minutes for Julian to be involved in the court. This resource that we all enjoy almost limitless time with, HMP Belmarsh can only afford 15 minutes.

The prosecution was asked to open the hearing with the case to not grant bail. The prosecution’s case was much as you would expect, flight risk and would engage in journalism if not silenced etc…

Editors Note: Julian’s right to a presumption of innocence should allow him to continue his profession, publishing. Holding him in jail to silence him constitutes a denial of his basic human rights.

Edward Fitzgerald QC replied and presented the case for the defence, making the point about Julia’s health and quoting various doctors and other sources. He also made the point that Julian’s isolation has again increased as there is no visiting now, including access to his lawyers. QC also noted that he had tried to visit Julian recently but was unable to as there were 100 staff from the prison not at work as they found it necessary to isolate themselves.

Edward QC told the court that he wanted to use a witness statement from Julian’s partner to provide evidence that the family connections would keep Julian from wanting to abscond but he did not want to give the name in the court.

The Judge magistrate indicated that to use this statement the name should be disclosed. Edward QC said that to disclose the name of the witness he should confer with Julian to get permission, every one left she court room so that Edward QC and Julian could discuss the matter in private.

When all returned to the court, The Judge magistrate made note that the proceedings of the court were being recorded and that the private conversation was captured on that recording, said that Edward QC could apply to have the recording deleted, I am not sure whether Edward QC said he would make the application or not, but chances are if you ever apply for a transcript of this court proceedings they won’t exist. With all the electronic listening devices in the room and indeed that the conversation was via video link, is there even a remote possibility that it was a private conversation, without the prosecution and Judge magistrate listening in?

Julian was not present via video link for the rest of the court proceedings.

Edward QC reported that Julian did not want the name of the witness released but if it were absolutely necessary then to do it. It should not be necessary as the Judge magistrate and the prosecution both knew the name. The prosecution brought an example of a case or reference to a law that said if the safety of children was involved then it should be withheld. (yes, again the prosecution brought up and argument for use of the defence). The Judge magistrate said that it involved the press and invited the press to contribute. One member of the press suggested that he thought the name of the witness should be spoken in the court room and that the Judge magistrate put a suppression order to prevent the press from publishing the name (but nothing to stop me from blabbing it all over town). The Judge magistrate seemed to support this interpretation.

Did I hear that right, the Judge magistrate asked advice from the press gallery?
I am not sure what the final out come of this discussion was but the name was not spoken in the court and the Judge magistrate had earlier indicated that it would probably not make a material difference to the decision of the court any way. She was true to her word and was not influenced by this or any other event or argument that had transpired in the court that day. This discussion about whether to or not speak the witness name in court used up most of the time in court that day.

The Judge magistrate summed up by reading a lengthy statement that included the dates of all Julian’s alleged transgressions and concluded that Julian could not be bailed. The Judge magistrate must have taken hours and probably days to prepare that statement and no event or testimony that occurred in the court was likely to get her to waste all that hard work. Any reference to medical expert testimonies was ignored or dismissed.

Editor’s Note: This is indeed strange when the application is ultimately weighting up the risk of flight versus the risk of life. Surely the medical evidence is significant to that decision

Apart from saying his name and replying to “can you hear” Julian did not participate in the court, one more time he is a witness to his own prosecution (persecution).
The outcome of this court was preordained, decided long before the court sat.

“All rise” we are supposed to stand to show respect as the Judge magistrate left the court, I remained seated.

See original article in WiseUp

On 5th April 2020, Marty Silk reports for AAP

The Ministry of Justice confirmed with AAP that Julian Assange, who is being held on remand in Belmarsh prison, will not be temporarily released because he’s not serving a custodial sentence and therefore not eligible.

Editors Note: Refer to the The Julian Assange Clause in the Coronavirus (Scotland) Bill. Apparently, even though International Law grants Julian the right to the presumption on innocence, being detained awaiting extradition has fewer rights than being detained on remand which has fewer rights than being a convicted prisoner.

Editor’s Note: Michelle Bachelet (UN Human Rights Commissioner) stressed “Now, more than ever, governments should release every person detained without sufficient legal basis, including political prisoners and others detained simply for expressing critical or dissenting views”

Marty Silk on twitter

Other article
9 News

On 2nd April, Statement on the Coronavirus (Scotland) Bill by Scotland Against Criminalising Communities (SACC) Chair, Richard Haley.

The bill gives the Scottish Government the power to order the early release of many prisoners. Prisoners convicted of the most serious offences are excluded and there are other, odder exclusions. One of the exclusions is for remand prisoners. Humza Yousaf told the Parliament:

“However, prisoners on remand are different from other prisoners who are in our care, because remand prisoners are there as a result of a court-mandated decision on bail. It would not be right to go above the courts in that regard. The judiciary has a long-standing and established role in determining whether a person who is accused of a criminal offence should be bailed or remanded.”

They are also different because they entitled to be presumed innocent. It would be paradoxical if they were to be last in line for release. The judiciary and lawyers with clients on remand need to address the issue urgently.

The Julian Assange Clause

Another exclusion is for prisoners in custody under the Extradition Act 2003. This might be called the Julian Assange clause. The only plausible reason for it is to avoid embarrassing Westminster, who need a similar clause in order to keep Julian Assange behind bars.

Any regulations for the release of prisoners under the new legislation have to be approved by the Scottish Parliament unless they relate to prisoners due for release in no more than 180 days, or there is an urgent necessity for release. The Parliament is now in recess. The situation is urgent. Scotland’s prisons are inevitably becoming death traps. They will also become powder-kegs as prisoners respond to this fact and to the deterioraion in their conditions that will inevitably result from staff shortages. The Scottish Government must use its new powers to reduce the prison population radically and rapidly.

Read whole analysis of Coronavirus (Scotland) Bill

On 4th April, Danny Shaw reports in BBC news

Up to 4,000 prisoners in England and Wales are to be released in an effort to control the spread of coronavirus, the Ministry of Justice has said.

Inmates with two months or less still to serve will be released on temporary licence in stages. 

The selected low-risk offenders will be electronically tagged and can be recalled at the first sign of concern.

It is seen as a way to avoid thousands of prisoners – many of whom share cells – becoming infected. 

Across 29 jails, 88 prisoners have tested positive for the virus with a further 1,200 believed to be self-isolating.

Sex offenders and those convicted of violent or sexual offences, as well as anyone who is a national security concern or a danger to children, will not be considered for release, the Prison Service said.

No inmate convicted of Covid-19-related offences – including coughing at emergency workers or stealing personal protective equipment – will be eligible either, said the Ministry of Justice (MoJ).

Lord Chancellor and Justice Secretary Robert Buckland QC said: “This government is committed to ensuring that justice is served to those who break the law.

“But this is an unprecedented situation because if coronavirus takes hold in our prisons, the NHS could be overwhelmed and more lives put at risk.” 

The MoJ also said no prisoners with symptoms of coronavirus would be released, nor would those who do not have housing and health support in place.

Mr Buckland previously announced that pregnant inmates could be granted temporary release to protect them and their unborn children from coronavirus.

Mothers behind bars with their children who pass the same checks could also be released, he said.

The legislation for the measures is expected to be put in place on Monday.

. . .

The prisons union welcomed the news but raised concerns over staff pressure.

About 8,000 prison staff have been absent due to issues related to Covid-19, around a quarter of the total workforce.

Ian Lawrence, general secretary of trade union Napo, said its members working in the National Probation Service and in community rehabilitation companies were “already over-stretched”. 

“Probation providers must work to ensure this new cohort can be supervised safely and not cause additional operational pressure and stress to the workforce,” he added.

In Northern Ireland, up to 200 offenders are being let out early and the Scottish government is considering similar measures.

France has also announced plans to release 5,000 prisoners early, along with 3,500 in the US state of California.

Australia, Germany, and Canada have already given the go-ahead for the early release of prisoners.

Read articles in
BBC News

And some earlier releases
The Daily and Sunday Express 31 March

Ministry of Justice Report for Early Release in Ireland 30 March

On 2nd April 2020, the BBC reports

A second inmate at the same prison – and the third in the UK overall – has died after contracting coronavirus.

The 77-year-old inmate at HMP Littlehey in Cambridgeshire died in hospital on Friday, the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) said. He had underlying health issues.

Fellow HMP Littlehey prisoner, the paedophile Edwin Hillier, 84, was the first serving British inmate to die with coronavirus, on 22 March.

The Prison Officers’ Association said the virus “does not discriminate”.

Its national chair Mark Fairhurst said that coronavirus “places everyone in our secure establishments at risk”.

Lawyer Simon Creighton, who has inmates among his clients, told BBC Newsnight that prison was a very unsafe environment.

“If you think about how cruise ships have been seen as Petri dishes, prisons are about 1,000 times worse,” he said on Wednesday.

“Some of the contact I’ve had with prisoners over the last week has been terrifying.”

Mr Fairhurst pointed out that it was the older inmates who were most vulnerable.

“The two deaths at Littlehey demonstrate that an ageing prison population that have underlying health conditions are more at risk,” he said.

“We would hope that wings at Littlehey can isolate their prisoners effectively and would insist that any interaction between staff and prisoners utilises full personal protective equipment.

“I would like to commend the brave frontline staff at Littlehey for the unavoidable risks they are enduring to care for the most vulnerable in our care.”

A 66-year-old male inmate at HMP Manchester, who had been receiving end-of-life care for an underlying health condition, died in hospital on 26 March after contracting coronavirus.

As of 17:00 BST on Monday, 65 inmates had tested positive for coronavirus in 23 prisons, the MoJ said.

It has said it has “robust plans” in place to protect staff and inmates.

Read Full article on BBC News

On 1st March 202, RT News reported

The Covid-19 crisis has created a “dire situation” for inmates in British prisons, WikiLeaks editor Kristinn Hrafnsson has warned, including Belmarsh prison where Julian Assange is being held despite a request for emergency bail.

In a video posted by WikiLeaks’ official campaign to stop Assange’s extradition to the US, Hrafnsson said prisoners were being kept mostly to their cells and had “no access to any activities.”

It doesn’t take an expert to understand that the prison environment is the worst environment for illnesses such as Covid-19.

"It doesn't take an expert to understand that the prison environment is the worst environment such as #COVID19." #Assange is on remand in Belmarsh prison & his health is at increased risk from #coronavirus. @khrafnsson#FreeAssangehttps://t.co/42u7mJhp2Vhttps://t.co/NSmkpn7GgH pic.twitter.com/yWsUofy8d2

— Don't Extradite Assange (@DEAcampaign) April 1, 2020

Judge Vanessa Baraitser denied a request for bail made by Assange’s legal team last week, ruling that the pandemic “does not provide grounds” for his release, despite the fact that the journalist suffers from a chronic lung condition and may be a high-risk case if he contracted the virus.

Baraitser justified her denial by saying that there were no known cases of the coronavirus infection in Belmarsh. Assange’s lawyer Edward Fitzgerald QC claimed recently, however, that the defense team were denied entry to the prison because 100 staff were self-isolating due to fears over the spread of the highly contagious disease.

Hrafnsson also slammed reports that in some prisons, inmates with regular flu-like symptoms were being placed in cells with others who had tested positive for the virus, leaving them to potentially contract the more serious infection. The situation was “outrageous, if not criminal,” he said.

“No one knows how widespread the virus is inside the prison, no one is testing. Journalists who are asking questions are getting misleading answers, if they are getting any answers at all,” Hrafnsson added.

The WikiLeaks editor’s warnings come as investigative website Declassified UK revealed that Assange is only one of two prisoners at Belmarsh being held on a bail violation.

Figures provided to the website by the British Ministry of Justice (MOJ) show that about 20 percent of prisoners were held for murder, with two-thirds of all inmates incarcerated for violent offences. Twenty prisoners were being held for sex crimes against children, and 16 for terrorism-related offences. 

Only one other prisoner is being held in a similar category to Assange, described in the documents as having failed “to answer court/police bail as soon as practicable.”

Declassified UK also revealed that Belmarsh may be a “particularly dangerous” prison for inmates like Assange with health conditions since it has been “repeatedly criticised by prisons inspectors since 2005” for “not having adequate anti-infection precautions in place.”

Official checks of the site in 2007, 2009, and 2013 found inadequate infection measures in place. A report in 2018 found that the prison had finally implemented “suitable infection control” policies — but a report by the Independent Monitoring Boards in 2019 described the state of the showers and toilets in Belmarsh as “appalling.”

Read stories in RT News and The Daily Maverick

On 30th March RT News reported

The UK’s national healthcare system (NHS) is struggling to cope with around 25 percent of doctors who are off work sick or in self-isolation, as the Covid-19 pandemic wreaks havoc across frontline services.

The president of the Royal College of Physicians (RCP), Professor Andrew Goddard, claimed on Monday that around a quarter of all doctors have been forced off work, either with coronavirus or because a family member or housemate is symptomatic. 

Goddard said London in particular is suffering with workforce shortages and warned that other cities are also beginning to show the strain.

This is really impacting a lot in emergency departments and London is in a much worse position than elsewhere at the moment, but it will come to other places. Birmingham is also struggling.

The claim comes after the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) revealed on Sunday that around one in every five nurses had taken time off work to self-isolate due to the outbreak of the deadly disease.

There’s been widespread criticism of the lack of availability of personal protective equipment (PPE) and of Covid-19 testing for frontline healthcare workers, both in the NHS and care home sectors.

Amged El-Hawrani, a 55-year-old ear, nose and throat specialist, became the UK’s first frontline healthcare worker to die from contracting coronavirus on Saturday night.

. . .

Read whole article RT News

On the 25th March, BBC reports

Editor’s Note: This is information being disclosed at the same time as Julians Bail application

Justice Secretary Robert Buckland said the virus poses an “acute” risk in prisons, many of which are overcrowded.

Some 3,500 prison staff – about 10% of the workforce – were off work on Tuesday because they were ill or self-isolating, a committee of MPs was told.

Mr Buckland said releasing some inmates could help to “alleviate” pressures.

The justice secretary told the Commons justice committee he was “keen” to make use of release on temporary licence – where prisoners are let out for short periods, after a risk assessment.

Editor’s Note: Included here is Dr Michael J Ryan, the Executive Director of WHO, explaining that speed trumps perfection when dealing with a pandemic. This raises the question whether Buckland is aware of urgency when reacting to a pandemic.

Mr Buckland said he was looking “very carefully” at whether or not 50 pregnant prisoners could be released.

He also indicated some of the 9,000 inmates who are on remand, awaiting trial, could be transferred to bail hostels, if it was safe to do so.

Mr Buckland said the prison service must “balance the protection of life with the need to protect the public”, but releasing prisoners early could help to “alleviate some of the pressures” the virus was having on the system.

However, he pointed out that releasing more prisoners would be a “challenge” for probation staff.

Amnesty International UK’s head of policy and government affairs, Allan Hogarth, said elderly prisoners and those with underlying medical conditions should “immediately” be considered for release “if they do not pose a threat to themselves or society”.

Mr Buckland’s appearance before the committee came as all visits to prisons were cancelled, as part of measures to curb the spread of the virus.

Outside visitors, group activities and education classes have all been banned and inmates have been confined to their cells for 23 hours a day. 

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) said 55 prisons across England and Wales would be given 900 phones to allow prisoners to stay in touch with family members during the ban.

The phones will not have internet access and would only be handed out to risk-assessed prisoners on a temporary basis, the MoJ said.

The justice committee also heard from Jo Farrar, chief executive of the Prison and Probation Service, who said 13 inmates had tested positive for coronavirus.

The confirmed cases were in nine prisons although more jails are suspected to have had cases.

According to the latest Department of Health figures, there are now more than 8,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus in the UK – although the actual number cases is likely to be far higher. Some 422 of those patients have died.

Mr Buckland said more tests for the virus were needed in prisons, and more personal protective equipment (PPE) was needed for staff.

About 50,000 protective masks have been delivered for staff to use and a ban on bringing hand sanitiser into prisons has been lifted.

Read original article in BBC News and an article on 14th March Coranavirus: Emergency plan for prisons in England and Wales

Also on the 17th March Top Governor warns British prisoners will die from coronavirus

On the 27th March 2020, the Express & Star reports

Editors Note: As contained in the report, this represents the picture in prisons the day after Julian’s Bail application was rejected. It appears most infection in prisons comes from prison staff and not from visitors.

Earlier this week, the Ministry of Justice confirmed two prisoners who had the virus had died.

Some 27 inmates have now tested positive for coronavirus in 14 different prisons.

The number of cases, which the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) said was accurate as of 1pm on Thursday, jumped up by eight in 24 hours.

Earlier this week, the department confirmed two prisoners who had the virus had died.

The news comes as campaigners signed an open letter to the Prime Minister, Justice Secretary, Home Secretary and other ministers to call for the Government to take “urgent life-saving steps to immediately reduce” the number of people in prison, young offender institutions, secure training and immigration detention centres.

Jails in England and Wales were put on immediate lockdown on Tuesday with all visits cancelled as it emerged thousands of staff were in self-isolation.

Jo Farrar, chief executive of the Prison and Probation Service, told the Commons Justice Committee that around 4,300 prison and probation staff overall were self-isolating.

Some 3,500 were prison staff – representing about 10% of the workforce.

The latest figures, released by the MoJ on Friday, confirmed five prison staff have now tested positive for Covid-19, each in separate jails.

There have also been four prisoner escort and custody services staff who have tested positive, as well as around eight probation staff.

Around 50,000 protective masks have been delivered for staff to use and a ban on bringing hand sanitiser into the prison had been lifted.

Justice Secretary Robert Buckland has hinted he may have to consider some forms of early release for prisoners in a bid to ease pressure on jails during the crisis.

In a letter sent to political leaders on Friday – which has been signed by more than 100 campaigners – Deborah Coles, the director of the charity Inquest and Kate Paradine, chief executive of Women In Prison, made calls to to “drastically reduce the prison population and save lives both in and outside of prison”.

The letter said: “People in prison are already dying.

“Many detention settings already have the virus within their walls, with thousands of frontline staff self-isolating.

“Astonishingly, people continue to be processed through a justice system despite the known dangers.

“A failure to act, and release people now, will result in an increased risk to us all.”

The Government has a “legal and moral obligation” to protect the lives of people who have been detained “from a foreseeable danger to their health”, the letter said.

It cited plans in Iran, Ireland and US to release prisoners – saying there was a “blueprint” for the UK to follow suit.

It added: “It is clear that keeping people in prison and detention during this pandemic threatens the lives of prisoners, staff, healthcare workers – and the public health at large.”

Read original article Express & Star