Prisoners Abroad

Last updated
Prisoners Abroad
Formation1978;45 years ago (1978)
FounderCraig Feehan, Joe Parham, Chris Cheal and Bob Nightingale
Founded atU.K.
Registration no.1093710
PurposeTo support British prisoners overseas
Budget
£1.6 million
Website www.prisonersabroad.org.uk

Prisoners Abroad is a UK-registered human rights and welfare charity [1] which supports British citizens who are imprisoned overseas. It also works with ex-prisoners returning to the UK and family members and friends of those detained.

Contents

The organisation provides humanitarian aid, advice and emotional support to people affected by overseas imprisonment. They assist British citizens during their incarceration, when they return to the UK and need access to resettlement services, and they support their family and friends throughout the trauma.

Prisoners Abroad translates human rights law into practical life-saving actions by providing access to vitamins and essential food, emergency medical care, freepost envelopes to keep in touch with home and books and magazines to help sustain mental health.

History

Prisoners Abroad was formed in 1978 by Craig Feehan, Joe Parham, Chris Cheal and Bob Nightingale. Initially it worked with Britons held mainly in Turkey, central Asia and north Africa. Each year supporting over 1,600 Britons imprisoned across the world in around 90 countries.

In UK terms, Prisoners Abroad is a small to medium-sized charity, with an annual turnover of £1.5 million.

Welfare grants

The Craig Feehan Fund, which was founded after Craig Feehan's death in 1985, provides those imprisoned in particularly poor conditions with a monthly sum of money for essentials such as bedding, food, clothing, toiletries, vitamins, newspapers and correspondence. The fund provides help to those who are destitute and have no other source of income.

A vitamin fund is available to people imprisoned in countries where the nutrition is deemed inadequate for survival.

Medical grants are awarded on a case by case basis for treatment of medical issues ranging from blood pressure medication to eyeglasses to major surgeries. The funds also address diseases commonly found in foreign prisons, such as tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS.

Prisoners Abroad is a non-judgmental organisation and provides assistance on the basis of need and regardless of innocence or guilt.

Support for families

Each year Prisoners Abroad provides assistance to more than 1,500 family members. This includes one-to-one support via a helpline, a private online network for family members, as well as hosting family support groups around the country and arranging overseas visits.

Resettlement

Prisoners Abroad's work also extends to a resettlement service that supports those who return to the UK; they find them somewhere to stay, provide grants for food and travel, and help them take the vital steps to a new life. Each year they support around 300 people on return to the UK.

Awards and patrons

In 2007 Prisoners Abroad was awarded the Longford Prize, [2] awarded annually by the Longford Trust to "recognise the contribution of an individual, group or organisation working in the area of penal or social reform who/which has shown outstanding qualities of humanity, courage, persistence and originality". [3]

In 2008 Prisoners Abroad were shortlisted for the Justice Awards and the Andy Ludlow London Homelessness Awards.

In 2010 Prisoners Abroad won the Guardian Public Service Awards, Carers, Families and Communities. [4]

In 2012 Prisoners Abroad were shortlisted for the Charity Times' Charity of the Year (£1m - £10m) and Charity Principal of the Year.

In 2017 Prisoners Abroad's Resettlement Service was awarded second prize in the London Homelessness Awards.

Prominent patrons include the Archbishop of Westminster, Cardinal Vincent Nichols; Sir Ephraim Mirvis; the Right Reverend Rachel Treweek; Sir David Wootton; Jon Snow; Dominic Grieve QC; Kit de Waal; and Dame Harriet Walter. [5] Dame Harriet read the BBC Radio 4 Appeal for Prisoners Abroad in July 2023. [6]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leverhulme Trust</span> British foundation

The Leverhulme Trust is a large national grant-making organisation in the United Kingdom. It was established in 1925 under the will of the 1st Viscount Leverhulme (1851–1925), with the instruction that its resources should be used to support "scholarships for the purposes of research and education."

The British Red Cross Society is the United Kingdom body of the worldwide neutral and impartial humanitarian network the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. The society was formed in 1870, and is a registered charity with more than 17,200 volunteers and 3,400 staff. At the heart of their work is providing help to people in crisis, both in the UK and overseas. The Red Cross is committed to helping people without discrimination, regardless of their ethnic origin, nationality, political beliefs or religion. Queen Elizabeth II was the patron of the society until her death on 8 September 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sue Ryder (charity)</span> British palliative neurological and bereavement support charity

Sue Ryder is a British palliative and bereavement support charity based in the United Kingdom. Formed as The Sue Ryder Foundation in 1953 by World War II Special Operations Executive volunteer Sue Ryder, the organisation provides care and support for people living with terminal illnesses and neurological conditions, as well as individuals who are coping with a bereavement. The charity was renamed Sue Ryder Care in 1996, before adopting its current name in 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Ramsbotham, Baron Ramsbotham</span> British Army general (1934–2022)

General David John Ramsbotham, Baron Ramsbotham, was a British Army officer, who later served as HM Chief Inspector of Prisons. He was awarded a life peerage in 2005, and later sat on the crossbenches of the House of Lords.

Roger Arthur Graef OBE was an American-born British documentary filmmaker and theatre director. Born in New York City, he moved to Britain in 1962, where he began a career producing documentary films investigating previously closed institutions, including Government ministries and court buildings.

Keith Lander Best is a former Conservative Party politician in the United Kingdom. He was Member of Parliament (MP) for Anglesey from 1979 when he gained the seat from Labour until 1983, and for the renamed Ynys Môn from 1983 to 1987. He was Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Secretary of State for Wales from 1981 to 1984.

Tech Trust is a UK-based charity and social enterprise that aims to help other charities and not-for-profit organisations increase their impact through more effective use of Information Technology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prison Advice and Care Trust</span> UK charity that provides services for prisoners and their families

The Prison Advice and Care Trust (Pact) is an independent UK charity that provides practical services for prisoners and prisoners' families. First established as the Catholic Prisoners Aid Society in 1898, Pact works at several prisons across England and Wales.

Quarriers is a Scottish social care charity based in Quarrier's Village, Inverclyde. It provides care and support for people with a disability, children and families, young people, young homeless people, people with epilepsy and carers. In February 2008 Quarriers was the largest non-church social care charity in Scotland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Koestler Arts</span> UK charity for prisoners, detainees and ex-offenders

Koestler Arts is a charity which helps ex-offenders, secure patients and detainees in the UK to express themselves creatively. It promotes the arts in prisons, secure hospitals, immigration centres and in the community, encouraging creativity and the acquisition of new skills as a means to rehabilitation. The Koestler awards were founded in 1962 and the organisation became a charitable trust in 1969 following a bequest from the British-Hungarian author, Arthur Koestler.

Cage is a London-based advocacy organisation which aims to empower communities impacted by the War on Terror. Cage highlights and campaigns against state policies, developed as part of the War on Terror. The organisation was formed to raise awareness of the plight of detainees held at Guantánamo Bay and elsewhere and has worked closely with former detainees held by the United States and campaigns on behalf of current detainees held without trial.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Giles Trust</span>

St Giles Trust is a charity that works with people facing disadvantages such as homelessness, long-term unemployment, an offending background, addiction, severe poverty and involvement in gangs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Forgiveness Project</span>

The Forgiveness Project is a UK-based charity that uses real stories of victims and perpetrators of crime and violence to help people explore ideas around forgiveness and alternatives to revenge. With no political or religious affiliations, The Forgiveness Project's independent and inclusive approach ensures its core message – that everyone has the potential to change their perspective and break the cycle of vengeance – resonates across all cultures.

Hostage International, formerly Hostage UK, is a charity which aims to support the families of hostages and former hostages by providing emotional and practical care both during and after kidnap. Hostage International primarily assists individuals affected by a kidnap or illegal detention outside their home country.

Clean Break is a feminist theatre company started in 1979 by prisoners at HMP Askham Grange. They expanded the prison's annual Christmas show into Efemera, a two-hour show about prison life. It was later performed for a two-night run at York Arts Centre, which made its 21 cast members the first British prisoners to perform onstage outside of a prison. Upon their release, founders Jenny Hicks and Jackie Holboroug formed the theatre company, Clean Break in order to tell the stories of women in prison.

Inquest Charitable Trust is a charity concerned with state related deaths in England and Wales. It was founded in 1981. Inquest provides support on state-related deaths, including deaths in custody and their investigation, to bereaved people, lawyers, advice and support agencies, the media and parliamentarians. Their policy, parliamentary, campaigning and media work is grounded in the day-to-day experience of working with bereaved people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Prison Radio</span> UK radio station for prisoners

National Prison Radio is the world's first national radio station for prisoners. It is run by the Prison Radio Association, a charity, in partnership with His Majesty's Prison Service and the National Offender Management Service. It broadcasts 24 hours a day, seven days a week to prisoners in over 100 establishments across England and Wales. Prisoners receive the service as an audio channel via in-cell TV systems. It is available to over 80,000 prisoners.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prison Radio Association</span> British charity

The Prison Radio Association (PRA) is a British prison-based charity that operates National Prison Radio, a radio station which broadcasts programmes made by and for inmates in over 100 prisons in the United Kingdom and is the world's first national radio station of its kind.

Naz and Matt Foundation is a charity based in the United Kingdom that tackles homophobia triggered by religious and cultural beliefs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nishkam SWAT</span> Homeless charity

Nishkam SWAT is a Sikh charity which supports the homeless within the United Kingdom.

References

  1. "Prisoners Abroad, registered charity no. 1093710". Charity Commission for England and Wales.
  2. "The Longford Trust". Longford Trust. Archived from the original on 2007-09-28. Retrieved 2007-12-03.
  3. "The Longford Prize". Longford Trust. Archived from the original on May 4, 2006. Retrieved 2007-12-03.
  4. Guardian Staff (2010-11-24). "Guardian News & Media press release: Guardian Public Services Awards winners 2010". the Guardian. Retrieved 2021-12-03.
  5. "Patrons". Prisoners Abroad. 2023-01-01. Retrieved 2023-12-19.
  6. "Radio 4 Appeal - Prisoners Abroad - BBC Sounds". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2023-12-19.