In this week's prison review, it has been recommend by the current and new Justice Secretary, Elizabeth Truss, that jailed terrorists should be placed in secure units, away from other prisoners.
Insert from BBC News
Guantanamo Bay has been the source of propaganda and much violent protest for radicalists, and now after 15 years, it is about to be shut down by Barack Obama. But the UK wants to almost create its own Guantanamo Bay, by enforcing the segregation of jailed terrorists and extremists from other prisoners. This in my opinion, will cause further and deeper rooted problems both in and outside jail.
Some of the prisons which will include a 'prison within a prison' include the following : Frankland, Long Lartin and Belmarsh. There are some obvious and real dangers to prisoners and the public, if terrorist are grouped together in UK prisons. There is scope for them to become further disillusioned with the British/Western system and therefore ignite much more radical thoughts and behaviour. In addition, there is always power in numbers and at the back of this, terrorists may feel unfairly and ill-treated compared to other criminals and create "a military command structure that they would not be able to maintain if dispersed", as said by Professor Peter Neumann at The International Centre For Study Of Radicalisation And Political Violence At King's College London. If Truss's plans do go ahead and terrorists and extremists are isolated from other people in the prison, it will give them a political platform which will in the end cause a greater outcry.
Ethically speaking also, it is not right to treat prisoners differently just because of the faith they follow. Rather psychologically and sociologically speaking, there are far more contributing factors that lead one to become a terrorist and commit terror offences, other than religion. Islam is repetitively and wrongly maligned at the height of some mislead and disturbed individuals. The same way it would be transparently wrong to group Black men together for gun crime in jails, it is wrong to jail Muslim men together who happen to be terrorists.
I understand there is huge scorn and scrutiny at the growing Muslim population in jails, but who is to say that these converts will become radical or are? I for one, know many converts to Islam, both in and out of jail, and they are not anywhere near radical. These prejudiced attitudes held by prison staff, government and journalists alike towards Muslim, reinforces a moral panic and negative feelings and animosity towards an entire religion.
Despite criminals committing wrong in the eyes of the law and in the public interest, they are still human and deserving of their basic human rights, especially when one of them, being FREEDOM is stripped off them to a great degree. In saying this, I strongly believe it will be counter-productive to isolate terrorists from their inmates in UK prisons and create a more seething and increased level of radicalization.
Guantanamo Bay has been the source of propaganda and much violent protest for radicalists, and now after 15 years, it is about to be shut down by Barack Obama. But the UK wants to almost create its own Guantanamo Bay, by enforcing the segregation of jailed terrorists and extremists from other prisoners. This in my opinion, will cause further and deeper rooted problems both in and outside jail.
Some of the prisons which will include a 'prison within a prison' include the following : Frankland, Long Lartin and Belmarsh. There are some obvious and real dangers to prisoners and the public, if terrorist are grouped together in UK prisons. There is scope for them to become further disillusioned with the British/Western system and therefore ignite much more radical thoughts and behaviour. In addition, there is always power in numbers and at the back of this, terrorists may feel unfairly and ill-treated compared to other criminals and create "a military command structure that they would not be able to maintain if dispersed", as said by Professor Peter Neumann at The International Centre For Study Of Radicalisation And Political Violence At King's College London. If Truss's plans do go ahead and terrorists and extremists are isolated from other people in the prison, it will give them a political platform which will in the end cause a greater outcry.
Ethically speaking also, it is not right to treat prisoners differently just because of the faith they follow. Rather psychologically and sociologically speaking, there are far more contributing factors that lead one to become a terrorist and commit terror offences, other than religion. Islam is repetitively and wrongly maligned at the height of some mislead and disturbed individuals. The same way it would be transparently wrong to group Black men together for gun crime in jails, it is wrong to jail Muslim men together who happen to be terrorists.
I understand there is huge scorn and scrutiny at the growing Muslim population in jails, but who is to say that these converts will become radical or are? I for one, know many converts to Islam, both in and out of jail, and they are not anywhere near radical. These prejudiced attitudes held by prison staff, government and journalists alike towards Muslim, reinforces a moral panic and negative feelings and animosity towards an entire religion.
Despite criminals committing wrong in the eyes of the law and in the public interest, they are still human and deserving of their basic human rights, especially when one of them, being FREEDOM is stripped off them to a great degree. In saying this, I strongly believe it will be counter-productive to isolate terrorists from their inmates in UK prisons and create a more seething and increased level of radicalization.