Coroner condemns ‘inhumane’ imprisonment for public protection sentences that have no end date for release

A senior coroner has condemned the “inhumane” and “indefensible” treatment of a man who killed himself 17 years into an indefinite prison sentence. Tom Osborne, the senior coroner for Milton Keynes, said Scott Rider had given up all hope of release before he took his own life at HMP Woodhill in June 2022.

He had been serving an imprisonment for public protection (IPP) sentence after being convicted of grievous bodily harm in 2005. The sentence had a minimum term of 23 months but no end date.

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Claim of parental alienation made to ‘distress and frighten’, English court told

A man who raped his wife and was controlling and threatening towards her and their two children attempted to manipulate the family court into believing he was a victim of domestic abuse, a judge has ruled.

In a damning judgment Judge Middleton-Roy found the man’s conduct – which included frequently filming of his family using a body-worn camera – had been “reprehensible and unreasonable” after he pursued false claims against the mother and contested her allegations against him over a prolonged period.

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We helped bring Dominik Feri to justice. His trail should have rattled a complacent political establishment

He was spoken of as an extraordinary talent. A rising star with a million followers on Instagram, who made politics relevant for younger generations. As recently as 2018, Politico ranked him among 28 people who would shape Europe in the years ahead.

But earlier this week, Dominik Feri was sentenced to three years in prison for rape. A man once feted as the great hope of the Czech Republic, and the youngest member of parliament in the country’s history is now its first politician to be jailed for sexual violence.

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Imprisonment for public protection sentences were flawed and unjust. Labour should commit to finish them off

The harmful effects of imprisonment for public protection sentences (IPPs) are well documented. For Tommy Nicol and Francis Williams , whose sisters have both spoken to the Guardian about the impact of punishments with no end-date, the pressure was unbearable. Nicol, who was originally jailed for a violent robbery, took his own life during a mental health crisis at the Mount prison in 2015. Williams, also convicted of robbery, died of an overdose in Bognor Regis last year – hours after telling a probation officer that he was suicidal.

These tragedies are far from unique. At least 90 prisoners on IPPs have died by suicide in custody. Others, including Williams, died while on licence (Williams was on the verge of being recalled). One study found rates of self-harm to be 2.5 times higher among IPP prisoners. Evidence to the justice select committee from a forensic psychiatrist compared the clinical presentation of these inmates, almost all of whom are men, to “those who have been wrongfully convicted”. Such is the stress of being given this kind of sentence, which resembles a life sentence but was in many cases handed down for far less serious crimes.

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When it comes to reconciling bitter enemies, the notion of ‘justice’ has its limitations, writes former judge Sir Konrad Schiemann

Eva Ladipo’s article is impressive ( My family’s past, and Germany’s, weighs heavily upon me. And it’s why I feel so strongly about Gaza, 19 April ).

For millennia different people and different groupings have wanted the same thing, which is regarded as desirable by each. Obviously they cannot both have it – unless what they both want is peace. The challenge has been and continues to be, both in Europe and elsewhere in the world, to construct a political order which enables competing sides to live in continuing peace, notwithstanding that they cannot each have all that they wish. For each side to insist that the other is overcome does not lead to lasting peace – as France and Germany and many other places have shown over centuries.

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Arrests as Chinese authorities working with UK police and international trademark agencies seize millions of parcels bound for customers worldwide

Chinese authorities have targeted a major online sales platform accused of supplying counterfeit goods, raiding warehouses holding millions of packages destined for overseas buyers.

Earlier this month police raided the Hangzhou office and several warehouses of Pandabuy after reported legal action by 16 brands over copyright infringement. More than 200 public security branch officers, 50 private sector investigators and local police were involved, according to reports.

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Exclusive: Action by organisation supporting migrants argues new rules are discriminatory

An organisation that supports migrant workers has launched a legal challenge against the government’s new policy to bar care workers from bringing children and partners to the UK, warning that it is “tearing families apart”.

According to Migrants at Work, care workers have to choose between family life with their children and partners or getting a job as a health or social carer in the UK – they can no longer do both.

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First payments to be made during an ongoing conflict is ‘important step towards restoring justice’, says first lady, Olena Zelenska

The first reparation payments are to be made in the next few weeks to survivors of wartime rape by Russian soldiers during the invasion of Ukraine , in a move that Ukraine’s first lady, Olena Zelenska, called “an important step towards restoring justice”.

Up to 500 Ukrainian survivors of conflict-related sexual violence are being identified and awarded with interim reparations this year, including financial, medical and psychological support.

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Ex-nurse has asked appeal court for green light to challenge convictions for murder and attempted murder of babies

Three of England’s most senior judges are considering whether to allow Lucy Letby to appeal against her convictions for the murder and attempted murder of babies.

The former nurse has asked the court of appeal for the green light to mount a full legal challenge over her convictions for murdering seven infants and attempting to murder another six.

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