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| HMP Whitemoor: Prison 'breaching UN torture protocol' | HMP Whitemoor: Prison 'breaching UN torture protocol' |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| A prison's use of solitary confinement is in breach of a UN torture protocol, a report has said. | A prison's use of solitary confinement is in breach of a UN torture protocol, a report has said. |
| HMP Whitemoor, near March in Cambridgeshire, was found to lock up inmates in a segregation unit for more than 23 hours a day, with "little meaningful human contact". | HMP Whitemoor, near March in Cambridgeshire, was found to lock up inmates in a segregation unit for more than 23 hours a day, with "little meaningful human contact". |
| Its Independent Monitoring Board said this broke the UN's Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture. | |
| The BBC has contacted the Ministry of Justice for a response. | The BBC has contacted the Ministry of Justice for a response. |
| More than 400 men are housed in the three-wing maximum security prison, including a number of the highest-risk inmates. | More than 400 men are housed in the three-wing maximum security prison, including a number of the highest-risk inmates. |
| The report found that in May the five longest-term residents in Whitemoor's segregation unit had been there for between 184 and 362 days and were "not always treated fairly or humanely". | The report found that in May the five longest-term residents in Whitemoor's segregation unit had been there for between 184 and 362 days and were "not always treated fairly or humanely". |
| "Residents had to choose between a daily shower or a phone call," it added. | "Residents had to choose between a daily shower or a phone call," it added. |
| 'Shocking and degrading' | 'Shocking and degrading' |
| A rise in the use of new psychoactive substances, such as Spice, following the smoking ban was also a concern, inspectors said. | A rise in the use of new psychoactive substances, such as Spice, following the smoking ban was also a concern, inspectors said. |
| The report found that two men in the segregation unit who had taken Spice "set themselves on fire", sustaining life-threatening injuries. | The report found that two men in the segregation unit who had taken Spice "set themselves on fire", sustaining life-threatening injuries. |
| "The most basic human decencies" were also being breached across the prison because it "routinely fails to provide clean clothing, bedding and cleaning materials", it said. | "The most basic human decencies" were also being breached across the prison because it "routinely fails to provide clean clothing, bedding and cleaning materials", it said. |
| Frances Crook, chief executive of the Howard League for Penal Reform, said: "The shocking and degrading treatment of prisoners in segregation at Whitemoor is totally unacceptable, but it has been going on for years. | Frances Crook, chief executive of the Howard League for Penal Reform, said: "The shocking and degrading treatment of prisoners in segregation at Whitemoor is totally unacceptable, but it has been going on for years. |
| "It is an utter disgrace, and those responsible ought to be ashamed of themselves." | "It is an utter disgrace, and those responsible ought to be ashamed of themselves." |