About us

Vision

The day when no British citizen detained abroad is subject to torture, inhumane or degrading treatment contrary to international conventions. A society where prisoners and their families do not suffer undue hardship as a result of overseas imprisonment.

Mission

Prisoners Abroad is a lifeline for Britons detained overseas and their families by providing for their practical and emotional needs and campaigning to promote their human rights.

Purpose

Prisoners Abroad exists to safeguard the welfare and basic human rights of British citizens detained abroad. We attempt to alleviate the isolation and deprivation experienced by both prisoners abroad and their families in the UK. We seek to prevent deprivation amongst Britons returning from abroad and assist them in building crime-free lives.

History

Prisoners Abroad was formed as the National Council for the Welfare of Prisoners Abroad in 1978, and registered as a charity on 24th April 1980 under charity number 280030. In 2001 the trustees agreed it was in the best interests of the charity to operate as a company limited by guarantee, and so the charity was reborn as Prisoners Abroad on the 4th December 2001 under company number 04333963 and under charity number 1093710.

How we work

Prisoners Abroad makes no moral judgment about its clients: we help convicted and unconvicted, guilty or innocent, solely on the basis of need.

We aim to provide an excellent service to our clients by being a professional organisation that values its staff and is run along the principles of accountability and quality. We are committed to working positively against unfair discrimination and to the principle of user involvement. We seek to ensure that our resources are used in the most optimal and cost effective way to support our clients and their families.

We work in partnership with organisations to achieve our goals. They are both statutory and voluntary organisations that share our vision that no British citizen detained abroad should be subject to torture, inhumane or degrading treatment and that support our work with families and returnees.

Services

The services we offer breakdown into three main categories

• Services to Britons held overseas
• Services to familes and friends of Britons held overseas
• Services to Britons returning to the UK from prison overseas

More information about these services is available in the How We Help section of the website

Who we are