Action Alert – Get Kevan out of segregation

Kevan Thakrar is a prisoner that has been held in long-term solitary confinement for over 11 years in the Close Supervision Centre system of high security prisons. His move to the CSC was a repressive reaction to him resisting racist violence against himself and his brother a decade before.

Kevan has now been moved from the CSC to the segregation unit (seg) at HMP Full Sutton. He has been placed in a dirty punishment cell with no electricity, toilet seat or lid.

What you can do:

• Please tweet @HMPFullSutton and demand that Kevan is moved out of segregation ASAP.
• Please send letters and cards of solidarity to Kevan Thakrar, A4907AE, HMP Full Sutton, York, YO41 1PS
• Email Governer Gareth Sands immediately at: Gareth.Sands@hmps.gsi.gov.uk. Or click here to use the email tool.
• Phone HMP Full Sutton on 01759 475100

Sample Phone Script:

Hello. I am calling with concern about HMP Full Sutton’s transfer of Kevan Thakrar to seg without following due process. Why has been falsely accused of threatening officers? Why is he being held in a cell with no electricity? Why is he being punished for failure to engage with services when there have been no services on offer since March 2020? You must transfer Kev to HMP Whitmoor immediately.

Sample Tweets:

.@HMPFullSutton why have you put Kevan Thakrar in seg? Why is he being held in a dirty cell with no electricity? Why have you made false allegations that he threatened officers?

.@HMPFullSutton move Kevan Thakrar to HMP Whitemoor where he can get better access to healthcare and support

.@HMPFullSutton how can Kevan Thakrar be punished for “non-engagement with services” (Services being chaplaincy, gym and psychology) when there have been no services since March 2020?

Sample Email:

For the attention of Governor Gareth Sands,

 I am emailing to ask why Kevan Thakrar was transferred to segregation without the proper due process being followed. How can he be punished for failing to engage with services when there have been no services provided since March 2020? How can you justify holding anyone in these conditions? Why have false accusations been made against him?

I demand that you move Kevan Thakrar to HMP Whitemoor where he can get better access to healthcare and support. I look forward to hearing about how you have addressed this situation immediately.  

Key Points

• Kev was moved to the seg on Wednesday 7^th April and told this was an ’emergency transfer’ – yet there had been no changes on his wing to warrant an ’emergency’.
• His cell on the CSC remains empty, while he is now in a dirty punishment cell with no electricity, toilet seat or lid.
• On Friday 9^th April, Kev was informed he had been moved on the basis of ‘non-engagement of services’ despite all services being suspended since the pandemic began in March 2020.
• Kev was moved one day before a video link meeting with an independent psychologist.
• Kev has been put on the degrading ‘back wall unlock’ (where he has to stand facing the wall while four officers enter his cell) after false allegations  were made against Kevan saying that he threatened officers. This is very triggering for his PTSD, as he has experienced previous racist abuse and physical violence from officers in 2010, and since a white supremacist stabbed and tried to kill him in 2019.
• The CSC management’s due process has not been followed at any stage.
• HMP Full Sutton are failing to meet basic entitlement and needs.
• Kev has no mental health support. There is no care plan in place and Kev’s disability is not being acknowledged. The Healthcare department is failing to take action.
• Kevan is requesting an immediate transfer to HMP Whitemoor where he can get more access to healthcare and support. He fears he will be kept in Full Sutton seg for at least two years and won’t allow this to happen.