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23 February 2024 / Steve Foster
Issue: 8060 / Categories: Features , Criminal , Human rights
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HMP Wandsworth: Illegal conditions?

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Conditions at HMP Wandsworth are ‘unsafe’ and ‘inhuman’, says a recent report. But are they in breach of the ECHR, Art 3? Steve Foster considers the evidence
  • Examines the findings of the Independent Monitoring Board report into conditions at HMP Wandsworth, and considers them in relation to the guarantees of the European Convention on Human Rights, Art 3 and case law.

A recent report published by the Independent Monitoring Board (IMB) of HMP Wandsworth has highlighted concerns regarding the safety and integrity of prisoners and prison staff at the prison (‘Unsafe and inhuman conditions at Wandsworth’, 11 October 2023). It states that conditions at the prison reflect the failures of the prison system as a whole, and that there had been no real progress in resolving problems at Wandsworth, caused by years of underinvestment in the fabric, facilities and staff at the prison.

But are these conditions in breach of the law, and in particular Art 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), which guarantees freedom from inhuman

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