Britain's highest court has ruled Scottish prison authorities unlawfully held a racist killer in segregation - even though it was for his own protection.

The UK Supreme Court has found that Imran Shahid's human rights were breached when he spent almost five years away from the mainstream jail population.

The 38-year-old is still serving a 25-year sentence for the murder of teenager Kriss Donald, pictured below, in Glasgow.

The Herald: Kriss Donald was grabbed in Pollokshields

 

The manner of the killing - and its racial motivation - had made Shahid a hate figure inside Scotland's jails and he had suffered a brutal assault while behind bars.

 

Shahid, however, had sued the Scottish Government for £6000 and demanded a declaration that his treatment was unlawful.

Scottish judges threw out his case. But the UK Supreme Court, which can judge human rights issues from Scottish cases, on Wednesday upheld his claim on appeal.

Led by Scottish judge Lord Reed they declared the segregation unlawful and a breach of article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights , the right to private and family life.

The UK Supreme Court, however, did not think that Shahid should get a financial pay-out.

And they stressed that the breaches - essentially that prison authorities had not moved quickly to find a way to manage his transfer in to the general population - were relatively minor.

Lord Reed, in his written judgement, said: "Whether the failure to develop a management plan for his integration into the mainstream, or to consider possible transfers, resulted in the prolongation of his segregation is possible but uncertain.

"Three matters are however clear.

"One is that it is not suggested that he suffered any severe or permanent injury to his health as a consequence of the prolongation of his segregation.

"Another is that the degree of interference with his private life which resulted from his removal from association with other prisoners was relatively limited, given the attitude of the other prisoners towards him. "The third is that he was not isolated from all contact with other prisoners, and remained entitled to receive visits and to make telephone calls."

The Herald:

Shahid was jailed in 2006.

He was subsequently seriously injured in a prison assault.

Lord Reed, in his judgment, explained: "For a prisoner in Scotland to spend almost five years in segregation is exceptional.

"The situation of the appellant and his co-accused was exceptional primarily because of the media coverage which they attracted as a result of the nature of their crime.

"They were notorious as the perpetrators of a crime which, because of its racist nature, and the fact that the victim was a child, was liable to result in their being attacked by other prisoners.

"In consequence, there were persistent fears for their safety if they were accommodated in mainstream conditions."

The bid for compensation was originally rejected in 2011 at the Court of Session in Edinburgh. His claim was turned down by three judges on appeal at the same court in February 2014.

Lord Drummond Young, who heard the Scottish appeal with Lord Menzies and Lord Wheatley, said: "The simple fact is that continuing threats to his personal safety were made. In those circumstances there was no alternative to segregation."

He said it was clear from evidence available to the prison authorities that "serious threats of harm" to Shahid had been made by other prisoners.

The Herald:

Image: Shahid being brought back to Scotland from Pakistan after fleeing from Scottish justice.

One report from 2006 said prisoners at Glenochil jail in Clackmannanshire had warned that if any of the schoolboy's murderers were housed there they would be murdered, and "there would be a queue of prisoners wanting to do it".

However, Shahid's legal team, led by Tony Kelly of Taylor and Kelly, appealed all the way to the UK Supreme Court, which heard the case in February and reported back today.

A spokesman for Taylor and Kelly said: “Mr Shahid is delighted that his challenge has been upheld and that he has been vindicated in taking this matter to Court.

"The point of the action was to ensure that the legislation governing the use of segregation – always a serious step – is respected.

"The Supreme Court has taken the opportunity of referring to international standards and reports which have consistently held that segregation beyond 15 days will cause a detriment and should be resorted to only when necessary.

"In Mr Shahid’s case segregation was used for a period of nearly five years. The Supreme Court
records this as “exceptional”.

"Mr Shahid’s victory today will hopefully ensure that, for the future, that period is never repeated and that the prison rules will be observed."

A spokesman for the Scottish Prison Service said: “We will review the judgment to see if we are required to take any action.”