A Kurdish prisoner serving a life sentence for murder can be sent Kurdish books from family but not CDs and DVDs.
Mohammed Ali, a Kurdish Sorani speaker has only basic English. He was not allowed to receive CDs and DVDs from family members as they did not come from an approved supplier. The claimant argued that the policy was unlawful as it was a “blanket” policy and should be struck down on the grounds of inflexibility.
The defendant said individual consideration had been given to Ali’s case but that the materials were rare.
Judge Clive Heaton QC noted that the prison did not have the resources to translate DVDs or CDs or to examine them for encrypted, hidden or coded messages. He found there was no “blanket” policy therefore no public law error, and the claim succeeded for books but not CDs and DVDs.
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