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HUMAN RIGHTS FOR EACH PERSON REGARDLESS OF AGE, RACE, RELIGION OR POLITICS
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LATEST NEWS
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UK Citizen Michael Newman dies in Lao Prison.
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14 May 2008
Michael Newman Phonthong Prison Feb 2007. Copyright FPSS. This photograph is subject to copyright and not to be copied or used elsewhere without written permission from FPSS.
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UK Citizen Michael Newman was found dead in his prison cell this morning where he was detained in the squalid conditions of Phonthong Prison, Laos. His Thai wife Jeab has been notified as has his family in the UK.
Friends who kept in touch with Mike said they believed he suffered terribly in the Laos jail where human rights are practically non-existent. He battled depression and constant sickness to which he was denied proper medical treatment and care.
FPSS advocates had been campaigning for Michael Newman's repatriation to the UK for several years. They have repeatedly requested the UK Government to urgently negotiate a prisoner transfer agreement that would allow its citizens detained in Laos, Vietnam and other Asian countries, to be repatriated to correctional facilities in the UK. FPSS has issued numerous warnings to the UK Government and others about the fatal conditions inside Phonthong Prison Laos where foreigners and political prisoners are
systematically tortured and ill-treated.
The UK Embassy has endeavoured to expediate the Laos- UK Prisoner Transfer Agreement with very little success.
Many human rights activists believe that Michael Newman died needlessly. He had endured years of mental anguish and suffered everyday of his life in Phonthong Prison. Some would say that he got what he deserved. Others would argue that he was only human and like many humans, prone to mistakes. At the end of the day, he paid the ultimate price with his life.
Who will mourn Michael Newman? Those who witnessed his death will mourn him.. They shouted to police to come and assist but no one came. Life is cheap in Phonthong prison and Michael was after all, a criminal. The saddest reality of all is that his passing won't matter to those who didn't know him or care. But it will to those who believed that despite his past mistakes, he still deserved to live with some dignity at least.
'Mike once told me that he was grateful that we [FPSS] had tried to help him get back to England. He also said he didn't know how much longer he could hang on waiting for that day' said Kay Danes, advocate for FPSS and former political prisoner of Laos. 'I know the Embassy staff tried to do what they could to help him but unfortunately, it was never enough.'
Fellow UK prisoner, John Watson, remains in Phonthong prison on a life sentence for drug related offences. John met with his Embassy outside the Lao prison on the day Michael Newman's body was removed. He was deeply distressed and angry that his fellow countryman had died despite numerous appeals for help. Watson begged the Embassy to assist him in his own plea to be repatriated to the UK.
Watson was detained three months after Michael Newman's arrest in September 2003 and is fearful of ending up the same way, given the conditions of Phonthong.
'There is no medical facility in the prison should anyone fall ill. Prisoners who complain of sickness are often ignored due to a lack of medical resources and lack of skilled medical staff. It's not that the Lao police don't care because some of them do, it's just that there's no money to help foreigners and if they don't have money to help themselves, then they may die' says Kay Danes.
FPSS urge the UK Government to seek the repatriation of John Watson immediately before he faces a similar fate.
Guilty people ought to be punished according to the law. Prisoners detained in Laos prisons should not be tortured and ill treated. The Laos government signed onto the UN Declaration of Human Rights on 7 December 2000 and as well, signed other UN treaties to uphold Human rights. There are numerous cases that highlight violations of these treaties. Understandably change does take a while to come because some people either don't understand what these treaties mean or they fail to interpret them appropriately.
It is believed that the Laos authorities are planning to open up Phonthong Prison to visitors, if what they told the foreign diplomats is correct. They are doing renovations in Phonthong Prison now which is supposed to have a visitation room. Let's hope they finally allow the red cross to set up a weekly clinic or similar so that prisoners, who are still part of the human race, can recieve proper medical treatment and don't die of curable diseases or sickness. Some of these prisoners are eventually going to
be released into our
society. Prison reforms should be looking at how these prisoners can be rehabilitated so that when they are released they won't re-offend. Surely no one with a sound mind would argue that point?
'My brother John has been reporting illness on and off now for several years and is extremely depressed' his sister said from her home in the UK. 'He doesn't complain about the Lao authorities because he knows he broke the law... he just wants to come back home where he can be properly cared for.'
'If I die in this hell please don't leave my body in Laos!' John Watson begged his sister in a recent letter.
Our condolences to Michael Newman's family and friends in the UK and his Thai wife Jeab in Bangkok.
Michael Newman [UK]
John Watson [UK]
Phonthong Prison
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