November Update

The last few weeks since October have been eventful for Steven. He has been placed in lockdown (Confinement to cell), had his clothes and personal items stolen, been beaten up and now, moved to a new gallery (wing) for his own safety.

Currently things seem good and we have been able to help Steven out of the predicament by speaking to him everyday for the last few weeks and sending out a lttle bit of cash to pay off the debt that he had which was the source of his difficulties.

For now all is good, however, I did have some dissapointing news from the FCO yesterday. We had been quite careful to ensure that the PTA (Prison tranfer Agreement) had been ratified by parliament and was all good to go. Our ocntact at the FCO confirmed some six months ago that indeed it was all in place. unfortunately, we have now had feedback from the FCO that ratification has not taken place and is tied up somehwere in the buerocracy between the two Governments.

This is really dissapointing as this was the tool by which we would have been able to get Steven released to the UK and into the British Prison system thus qualifying him for all the services afforded any prisoner in a UK prison, such as rehabilitiation, probation and assistance with adjusting to normal life. It is our fear that he will not be afforded such services and thus have to wait until the end of his sentence (April 2011) and be returned to the UK with no support.

This is sad news. We are still working with the FCO to see if the ratification process can be speeded up, but at present we have no further information.

With the money that people have donated we have been able to buy Steven some new clothes, food and books etc. So we want to thank those who have and are helping in a financial manner. We are still building a little fund to help us get Steven back from nicaragua and help him when he returns, so every penny is a blessing. Thank you to all who help.

We shall keep you informed about the PTA process and any other relevant information.