The High Court is to hear an urgent challenge over a teenage boy’s \u201cprolonged solitary confinement\u201d in prison<\/a> after it emerged he has been locked in his cell for more than 23 hours a day.<\/p>\n The Howard League for Penal Reform<\/a> announced that the High Court has agreed to hear its judicial review action on behalf of the child, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, but is serving his sentence in Feltham Prison in west London.\u00a0<\/p>\n It is not known what offence he committed or the length of his sentence, but according to the charity, the boy has been \u201cpermitted no contact with any other child\u201d during the \u201cshort periods out of his cell\u201d.<\/p>\n A recent investigation by The Independent<\/em><\/a> uncovered more than a dozen examples of teenagers being\u00a0held in what amounts to solitary confinement in prison, including children with serious mental health problems, in breach of UN torture laws.<\/p>\n The Howard League’s legal team will argue at a hearing in London that the boy’s \u201cremoval from association and the lack of educational provision\u201d is unlawful.<\/p>\n Mr Justice Ouseley considered the judicial review application and ordered an expedited hearing, although no date has been set.<\/p>\n When the action reaches court, lawyers will argue over whether the treatment of the boy is in breach of the United Nations’ Mandela Rules, which prohibit the use of solitary confinement \u2013 defined as \u201c22 hours or more without meaningful human contact\u201d \u2013 for children.<\/p>\n A \u201dstatement of grounds\u201c prepared for the case argues the \u201dpractice of informally removing children from association without any statutory basis, and of subjecting children to solitary confinement, appears to be common at Feltham as well as other child prisons.\u201d<\/p>\n The Howard League says solitary confinement of children in England and Wales is \u201dout of step with other countries and there is widespread recognition that change is needed\u201c.<\/p>\n The charity says that in the past two years its lawyers have supported at least six teenage boys aged under 18 who have been in solitary confinement for periods ranging from weeks to more than six months.<\/p>\n Chief executive Frances Crook said: \u201cCaging children for over 22 hours a day is unacceptable.<\/p>\n \u201dAll the evidence shows that it can cause irreparable damage. This practice must cease.”<\/p>\n Feltham\u2019s A wing holds up to 240 boys aged between 15 and 18 while its B wing houses over 400 young adults aged from 18 to 21.\u00a0<\/p>\n A 2015 report into the prison found staff were constantly trying to keep apart boys from more than 40 gangs, and there was an atmosphere of \u201cunpredictable and reckless\u201d violence which included inmates stamping on each other\u2019s heads.<\/p>\n Concerns were raised\u00a0that Feltham\u00a0was\u00a0“warehousing” career criminals rather than helping young offenders to turn their lives around.<\/p>\n The report highlighted staff shortages and said \u201cthe number of fights and assaults remained high \u2026 Staff tried to maintain an effective balance between care and control but some boys in Feltham A were kept isolated for far too long.\u201d<\/p>\n Prison inspection reports throughout the UK suggest some young offenders\u00a0have been driven to self-harm due to the severe emotional stress of solitary confinement.<\/p>\n The Ministry of Justice maintains that \u201csegregation\u201d of minors occurs for their own safety, which can involve them being isolated but not for \u201csignificant\u201d periods of time.\u00a0<\/p>\n This latest legal challenge for the Government\u00a0comes amid a growing crisis in the prison system, with a staff walk-out leading to riots and suicides and assaults on other inmates and officers at record levels.<\/p>\n The Press Association contributed to this article<\/em><\/p>\n
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