PRESS RELEASE

We are delighted to announce that the board of trustees has appointed four new people to serve as trustees of Prisoners Abroad.

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Following an open recruitment process in late 2023, in which we received over 20 high-quality applications, at a recent board meeting on 30th April 2024 the trustee board formally appointed Dame Anne Owers, Kate Lill, Julian Braithwaite and Silvana Keen as trustees.

Each of the new trustees brings with them a wealth of experience and talent. They each have an innate understanding of the challenges facing people in prison overseas and their families, and bring a broad range of skills and valuable expertise to support the most effective governance of the charity.   

Commenting on the appointments, Christopher Stacey, Chief Executive, said:

“It is a great testament to the work of Prisoners Abroad that we had such a high-quality field of candidates looking to join our board. I was able to have the opportunity to meet some exceptional candidates and I know that the trustees we are welcoming to our board all bring vital skills but also importantly, passion for our mission. It is an exciting time to join the organisation, as we embark on developing our next strategy and priorities for the future, and myself and the rest of the staff team are looking forward to working with Anne, Kate, Julian and Silvana, as well as the rest of the board, to ensure that British people in prison overseas and their families survive imprisonment with dignity and face with the future with hope.”

Dame Anne Owers DBE was Chief Inspector of Prisons in England and Wales for nine years, and until recently was the national chair of the Independent Monitoring Boards of volunteers who monitor prisons in England and Wales. She has also visited and reported on prisons overseas, in the Caribbean, US and Europe. For six years, she chaired the Independent Police Complaints Commission, which among other things investigates deaths in police custody and serious complaints about police conduct. In the voluntary sector, she chaired the Koestler Trust, which exhibits arts by people in custody, including British prisoners held overseas, and she’s currently the chair of the Independent Custody Visitors Association, supporting volunteers visiting those in police custody.  Earlier in her career, she was the director of JUSTICE, the law reform and human rights charity, and before that was the CEO of JCWI (Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants).  

Kate Lill is a barrister, having been called to the Bar in 2009. She practised at the independent criminal bar before leaving to join the charitable sector with a focus on prisoner rights. She currently works for the Prisoners’ Advice Service, a legal charity offering free legal advice and representation to adult prisoners in England and Wales, where she specialises in representing women in prison who have often suffered great trauma in their lives. She previously worked internationally, first as the Human Rights Adviser here at Prisoners Abroad and then at the Death Penalty Project, where she assisted British nationals suffering human rights abuses overseas.

Julian Braithwaite spent thirty years of his career with the British foreign office. From 2008 to 2011 Julian served as the Director of the UK’s Consular Service, where he first worked with Prisoners Abroad as part of the important and enduring partnership between the charity and the Consular Service.  In this role Julian visited many British nationals in prison around the world, from North and South America, through Africa, Europe and Asia. Julian is currently CEO of an international alliance of beer, wine and spirits companies dedicated to tackling harmful drinking. Julian was first attracted to the non-judgemental mission of Prisoners Abroad long before he met the charity, when he visited foreign nationals in prison while travelling through Latin America in the 1980s.

Silvana Keen has given over 20 years of service in local government in the field of children and families and has been committed to making a positive impact on people’s lives. Silvana is currently responsible for developing essential structures, systems, and policies that enable effective service delivery. Having benefitted from the invaluable and non-judgmental support from Prisoners Abroad when a loved one was sent to prison abroad, Silvana looks forward to continuing a journey of service and advocacy as a trustee to support their vital work.

Find out more about our four new trustees, as well as the rest of our board members, on our website here.

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