Bent Bars – a queer prisoners support night

This months Bristol ABC meeting sees us join forces with the Bristol Queer Caf, for an evening focusing on the plight of queer prisoners, and how we may be able to support them.

We will be screening the film ‘Cruel and Unusual’ and follow that with a discussion about queer prisoner issues and how we can support from the outside. We will also have info available on the new ‘Bent Bars Project’.

A Greek prisoner writes, and other news from Greece

Letter from Ilias Nikolau, Amfissa prison, 19th January 2009. First published here, with background info.

Another woman dies in prison – stop the killing

Yet another woman prisoner has died in prison, and once again it is at the widely condemned HMP Styal for women in Cheshire.

36 year old mother Alison Colk was found hanging in her cell on 8 January this year, apparently 1 day into a 28 day sentence. She was not on a suicide watch, and is the third woman to die by suicide at Styal in the last 20 months, and the tenth since 2002. There is a report in the local media here.