Overseas Prisoners

As of 30 September, we were aware of 2,594 British nationals detained in 139

countries overseas. Consular staff spent a substantial proportion of time
assisting British nationals in detention, including visiting them.

One particular case arose in July, when we became aware of a British

national detained abroad on drugs charges. We were not notified of his arrest
until a week after it happened, in which time he alleged that he had been
beaten whilst in custody. Consular staff visited him and offered consular
assistance – including information about the prison and legal system – and
put him in touch with the NGOs Reprieve and Prisoners Abroad. We also
offered to contact his family to make them aware of the situation. After getting
his permission to do so, we protested to the authorities about both the lack of
consular notification and his mistreatment.

Consular staff aim to contact British detainees within 24 hours of being

notified of their arrest or detention, and to visit them as soon as possible
afterwards. We work to ensure that countries meet their consular notification
obligations under the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations or under any
bilateral conventions they have with the UK. If our consular staff are denied
access to a detained British national, we will lobby vigorously to ensure that
we are allowed to see them, both to check on their welfare and to explain the
support we can offer. This support includes direct help, as well as providing
information and access to the services of our NGO partners, most notably
Reprieve, Fair Trials International, and Prisoners Abroad.

In 2010 we provided funding for a Fair Trials International project to develop a

system for providing non-discretionary basic legal assistance, support and
referrals to all British nationals facing criminal charges overseas. We also
provided core funding for several of our UK NGO partners, including Reprieve
and Prisoners Abroad, to help ensure that those detained get the assistance
they need.
In 2010 numerous instances of mistreatment were reported to us by British
nationals detained overseas. These ranged from being threatened by a police
officer to reports of torture. On those occasions where the individual did not
wish us to take action about their treatment, especially while they remained in
detention, we respected their wishes but sought their permission to pursue the
allegations on release. Where we had the individual’s permission, we raised
the allegations with foreign authorities, often repeatedly, although the
responses frequently remained inadequate. We will continue to approach
foreign authorities if British nationals are not treated in line with internationally
accepted standards.