UK: Satpal Ram calls for inquiry
01 September 1999
A demonstration was held outside Frankland prison, Durham, at the beginning of September to protest at an alleged racist assault by prison officers on Satpal Ram while he was in the segregation unit of the prison. Satpal was sentenced to fifteen years imprisonment, with a recommended tariff of ten years, in 1986 after defending himself against a racist gang attack in a restaurant in Birmingham, west Midlands. He stabbed one of his attackers with a knife in self-defence; the man died after refusing medical treatment (see Statewatch vol 4 no 3 & vol 6 no 6). His tariff expired in November 1996 but was extended, many believe, because he was vehement in asserting his innocence. Prison Rules state that an inmate cannot be considered for parole unless they have come to terms with their offending behaviour. His next parole review is in December.
Satpal alleges persistent ill-treatment by prison officers throughout his imprisonment, as well as frequent transfers between prisons. In a recent letter (4.8.99.) he says: ...I am back in solitary. I've been down here since 30th June and once again my treatment has been such that I've had to endure a whole catalogue of abuse. I've been assaulted twice in the past month and I've received constant threats and intimidation. Satpal has made a statement, naming several prison officers, to Durham police and the Prisoners Advice Service regarding the attacks on him and "an assault on a Sikh prisoner, who had been assaulted and dragged into a strip-cell." Both Satpal and the unnamed Sikh prisoner, along with witnesses, were transferred to other prisons a week before the picket was held. Satpal was transferred to HMP Full Sutton. It is the fifty-ninth time that he has been moved.
He issued a statement in which he condemned the "brutal and overtly racist" treatment of prisoners and called for: an independent inquiry into the segregation unit at Frankland and the way in which prisoners, especially black prisoners, are treated here. He is asking supporters to write to him in support of his campaign and also to the Home Office demanding his release and an inquiry into the prison's segregation unit. Over 10,000 people have signed a petition supporting Satpal's claim of a miscarriage of justice and civil rights lawyer, Gareth Peirce, has now taken on his case. The petition will be presented to the Home Office and a new initiative will raise Satpal's case in Parliament.
Satpal can be contacted (at least for the time being) at: Satpal Ram E94-164, HMP Full Sutton, Moor Lane, Stamford Bridge, York YO4 1PS. You can email him: FreeSatpalRam@ncadc.demon.co.uk Satpal Ram website: link