Two convicted terrorists, Kamel Bourgass (41), and Tanvir Hussain (34), have won a ruling that they should not have been kept in solitary confinement for over 72 hours. They had argued that their human rights were breached when they were kept away from other prisoners.
Kamel Bourgass, an Algerian national, had murdered Detective Constable Stephen Oake (40), with a kitchen knife in 2003. He also plotted to spread the highly toxic ricin on the streets of Britain. Bourgass was jailed for life.
Tanvir Hussain had planned a liquid bomb attack on transatlantic airliners in 2006. Along with two other men, Hussain had planned to launch suicide attacks on flights from London Heathrow airport to America and Canada with liquid bombs made of hydrogen peroxide, hidden in soft drink bottles. He was also jailed for life with a minimum tariff of 32 years.
They were segregated from fellow inmates due to concerns that they were bullying other Muslim prisoners and were allegedly planning further terror activities while being in prison.
The Court of Appeal had rejected their complaints three years ago. However, on 29th July 2015, the Supreme Court ruled that while their human rights had not been breached, their treatment had been unlawful.
The judges unanimously ruled that prisoners should only be segregated for maximum three days without the approval of the current Justice Secretary, Michael Gove.
A Prison Service spokesperson said, “We are currently considering the Supreme Court judgement but are pleased it found no fault with the majority of the procedures around the segregation of prisoners. All prisoners who are segregated are already subject to a careful assessment so their physical and mental wellbeing is safeguarded.”
