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HJA Civil Liberties
@hjacivillibs.bsky.social
A dedicated feed from the Civil Liberties & Human Rights team at Hodge Jones & Allen solicitors. Protecting rights is our priority. https://www.hja.net/legal-services/civil-liberties-and-human-rights/ Tel: 0330 822 5788
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Melanie Kalay, daughter of a former naval officer and firefighter who died in prison after staff claimed he was staging a ‘dirty protest’ when in desperate need of medical attention, has settled a claim following a five-year legal battle - represented by Ruth Waters-Falk www.hja.net/news-and-ins...
MoJ settles five-year legal battle after ‘inhumane, degrading and undignified death’
Melanie Kalay brought the claim against the MoJ and City Health Care Partnership after her 74-year-old father died when he was placed in isolation as punishment, while battling coronavirus.
www.hja.net
Reposted by HJA Civil Liberties
We are hiring a Solicitor to join our Civil Liberties and Human Rights team based in London.

We are looking for a solicitor with at least 5 years PQE to join our expanding team. The successful candidate will have experience in actions against the police, inquests, HRA claims or judicial review.
November 27, 2025 at 12:10 PM
Reposted by HJA Civil Liberties
Proposals to remove jury trials for most offences risks damaging the foundations of justice.

Juries are central to our democratic settlement and ensure decisions reflect society, not a narrow judiciary. Their role should be protected, not reduced.

#JuryTrial #JusticeSystem #LegalSupport
November 26, 2025 at 3:22 PM
Reposted by HJA Civil Liberties
Immensely harrowing & distressing evidence at the #spycops public inquiry from Sukhdev & Tish Reel, talking about the racist murder of Ricky Reel & the catalogue of outrageous policing that belittled & dismissed them, then spied on their campaign for justice.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Kb7...
Spycops inquiry reaction: morning of 26 Nov 2025 - Sukhdev & Tish Reel evidence
YouTube video by Cops Campaign
www.youtube.com
November 26, 2025 at 11:45 AM
Reposted by HJA Civil Liberties
After years seeking answers, the family of Alpha Kalay has reached a settlement recognising serious failings in the care he received in custody.

Supported by Solicitor Ruth Waters-Falk, his daughter bravely fought and secured long-overdue recognition of his mistreatment.

#CivilLiberties
November 25, 2025 at 7:17 PM
Melanie Kalay, daughter of a former naval officer and firefighter who died in prison after staff claimed he was staging a ‘dirty protest’ when in desperate need of medical attention, has settled a claim following a five-year legal battle - represented by Ruth Waters-Falk www.hja.net/news-and-ins...
MoJ settles five-year legal battle after ‘inhumane, degrading and undignified death’
Melanie Kalay brought the claim against the MoJ and City Health Care Partnership after her 74-year-old father died when he was placed in isolation as punishment, while battling coronavirus.
www.hja.net
November 25, 2025 at 8:38 PM
Reposted by HJA Civil Liberties
After years of seeking answers, the family of Alpha Kalay has reached a settlement reflecting the serious failings in his care.

With guidance from Solicitor, Ruth Waters-Falk, his daughter has secured recognition of the failures that contributed to his death.

#CivilLiberties #HumanRights
November 25, 2025 at 5:26 PM
Hundreds of thousands of vulnerable unpaid carers will have their cases reassessed after official review concluded they were left with huge debts because of government failure and maladministration - but the govt has stopped short of offering compensation www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
DWP to reassess hundreds of thousands of cases in carer’s allowance scandal
Damning official review finds many unpaid carers left with huge debt because of government failure
www.theguardian.com
November 25, 2025 at 7:59 AM
Shabana Mahmood and David Lammy found to have breached the prohibition on inhuman or degrading treatment in Art 3 ECHR with respect to prisoner Sahayb Abu who spent months segregated from other inmates at HMP Woodhill www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
Mahmood and Lammy breached human rights law over segregation of prisoner, judge finds
Treatment of terrorist with known mental health needs said to have contravened prohibition on inhuman or degrading treatment
www.theguardian.com
November 24, 2025 at 8:36 AM
“These findings indicate a pattern in which the ethnicity and migration status of people charged – or more broadly accused of unlawful behaviour – is increasingly communicated in ways that represent people of colour as inherently criminal” www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
Police disclosing suspects’ ethnicity is fuelling prejudice, say campaigners
Fifty groups write letter calling for policy in high-profile cases in England and Wales to be scrapped
www.theguardian.com
November 23, 2025 at 6:16 PM
Reposted by HJA Civil Liberties
I am a torture survivor who came to the UK 20 years ago. The government's new immigration reforms will punish people like me.
The government's immigration 'shake up' will only punish torture survivors like me
www.bigissue.com
November 23, 2025 at 8:55 AM
A damning review commissioned by the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman finds inmates are dying needlessly in Britain’s prisons because of failures in healthcare, including those with epilepsy being locked in single cells despite having uncontrolled seizures www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crim...
Revealed: The inmates dying needlessly in Britain’s prisons
Exclusive: Epileptic prisoners are dying in their cells without receiving the care they are entitled to
www.independent.co.uk
November 23, 2025 at 8:59 AM
Reposted by HJA Civil Liberties
When the #spycops public inquiry was announced, Home Secretary Michael Howard met Doreen Lawrence & eagerly told her he had no idea her family had been spied on. She told the inquiry yesterday she believes he was lying.

www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
Spycops inquiry: Doreen Lawrence says she does not believe ex-home secretary
Stephen Lawrence’s mother tells inquiry she did not believe Michael Howard when he told her he did not know police had spied on her family
www.theguardian.com
November 21, 2025 at 5:23 PM
‘‘Possibly the most prolific sex offender in British history’: the inside story of the scandal at Medomsley youth detention centre in north-east England, where the paedophile Neville Husband raped and assaulted countless boys www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
‘Possibly the most prolific sex offender in British history’: the inside story of the Medomsley scandal
At a youth detention centre in north-east England, the paedophile Neville Husband raped and assaulted countless boys. Why was his reign of terror allowed to go on – and why hasn’t there been a public ...
www.theguardian.com
November 22, 2025 at 8:35 AM
Reposted by HJA Civil Liberties
This week, we gave evidence in Parliament on the risks that #mandatoryid poses.

This system could deepen discrimination against already marginalised communities - unless the Government builds it with privacy and safety in mind.

action.libertyhumanrights.org.uk/page/178626/...
November 21, 2025 at 4:15 PM
The Court of Appeal has imposed a fine of £50,000 for contempt of court on the chief constable of Northamptonshire Police over his force's failure to comply with a court order to supply body-worn camera footage www.lawgazette.co.uk/news/chief-c...
Chief constable fined £50,000 over court order breaches
Northamptonshire Police chief claimed that he was 'let down by the solicitor acting for him in terms of compliance'.
www.lawgazette.co.uk
November 21, 2025 at 2:51 PM
Reposted by HJA Civil Liberties
⚠️ Interesting fact about the use of force figures published yesterday: available police records indicate no violence detected amongst individuals subjected to use of force in almost half of all incidents. Click the link to read more www.stop-watch.org/news-opinion...
Use of force: no violence necessary
New estimates shed light on profiles of individuals subjected to force
www.stop-watch.org
November 21, 2025 at 2:06 PM
Reposted by HJA Civil Liberties
In a strong result secured by Senior Associate, Francesca Cociani, Ayeshah Behit & Hida Ahmed convictions, arising from a confrontation with MP, Alex Davies-Jones, were overturned.

The court ruled the prosecutions unnecessary, reinforcing protections for political expression.
November 20, 2025 at 3:56 PM
Reposted by HJA Civil Liberties
A key step toward justice.

The CCRC has referred the Moss Side joint enterprise convictions back to the Court of Appeal. Partner, Darrell Ennis-Gayle’s work helped show that the prosecution’s gang narrative was fundamentally flawed.

#MiscarriageOfJustice #CriminalDefence #CoutOfAppeal
November 20, 2025 at 5:05 PM
Serial rapist and formed Met Police officer, David Carrick, has been found guilty of abusing a 12-year-old girl, and of raping a former partner while he served as a senior officer, in a pattern of offending dating back 35 years

inews.co.uk/news/met-pol...
Met police rapist David Carrick's sexual crimes date back 35 years
The former police officer has been found guilty of further offences against a former partner and a 12-year-old girl - one of which dated back to 1990
inews.co.uk
November 20, 2025 at 8:01 AM
Reposted by HJA Civil Liberties
If you're interested in the #spycops scandal, check out this fantastic project we were involved in recently with Arts Uni Bournemouth & Lush:

aub.ac.uk/latest/ba-ho...
BA (Hons) Illustration students exhibit at LUSH Spycops event in Soho
AUB’s BA (Hons) Illustration students were asked to to research the spycops story and shed light on it with a 10-second YouTube...
aub.ac.uk
November 19, 2025 at 12:04 PM
Peter Sullivan, victim of a 38-year miscarriage of justice, has claimed he was beaten by police officers and bullied into falsely admitting murder, in his first interview since his release www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Peter Sullivan tells BBC: 'I was bullied into false murder confession'
In his first interview since release, Peter Sullivan says he wants an apology from the police after wrongful conviction of the 1986 murder of Diane Sindall.
www.bbc.co.uk
November 19, 2025 at 8:54 PM
Serial rapist and former Metropolitan Police officer David Carrick, who has already been jailed for life, has been found guilty of sexually abusing a 12-year-old girl and a former partner www.bbc.com/news/article...
David Carrick, ex-Met officer, is guilty of more sexual offences
David Carrick is already serving a life sentence for 71 offences of sexual violence.
www.bbc.com
November 19, 2025 at 8:04 PM
Reposted by HJA Civil Liberties
Instant report from the end of the Undercover Policing Inquiry's questioning Suresh Grover of The Monitoring Group, who advocate for victims of racial discrimination and violence, including helping the justice campaign of Stephen Lawrence's family.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=hK3Z...
Spycops inquiry reaction: end of 19 Nov 2025 - Suresh Grover evidence
YouTube video by Cops Campaign
www.youtube.com
November 19, 2025 at 5:29 PM