UN changes to definitions of torture
leanne flynn made this Freedom of Information request to Abacus Primary School, Wickford
This request has been closed to new correspondence. Contact us if you think it should be reopened.
Dear Abacus Primary School, Wickford,
An unusual Freedom of Information request for your office. Please read and save a copy if you intend to declare having no information about any of these issues. Please.
Please forward any information possible to explain the ongoing
torture, as defined by UN, of Marian Price McGlinchey of Belfast.
Thank you.
Also, have you received new training materials related to
understanding and implementing new United Nations guidelines
regarding what constitutes 'solitary confinement' and what is
considered torturous 'solitary confinement' by UN standards. In
2010, the UN declared all forms of electroshock therapy to also be
torture. These are tremendous and great celebrations of
humanitarianism. You should have recieved paper work from the UN
to share with law enforcement and medical personnel related to both
solitary confinement and electroshock therapy. You can contact the office of the UN and demand that paperworkl today. Thank you for any
guidance you can provide. You may be aware the HMP Hydebank, a
womens and youth detention center with hospital facilities has
turned away UN doctors, and are now turning away Red Cross who
would like to check on the safety and condition of prisoners.
Please assist, in any way.
Thank you for your service.
Yours faithfully,
leanne flynn
leanne flynn left an annotation ()
The location that I mentioned houses children- and the request was made during an emergency. My thought was that teachers might take action to help the youth of Hydebank. There was nothing vexacious about asking if they were aware of that youth crisis. The UN did take action.
Jeremy Hilton left an annotation ()
I appreciate that you have your motives for writing to the school (and they certainly seem to be honourable motives).
However, the FOI act shouldn't be used for purposes other than getting information held by public bodies. Otherwise it gives ammunition to people who say the FOI wastes time of public bodies.
You should have just written to the school, without invoking the FOI act. That's all I'm saying.
leanne flynn left an annotation ()
Thank you Jeremy. What you say about not misusing FOI is very important. I am from another country and felt that the emergency warranted a flurry of communications, and I used every way available to alert people closer to the area that might be able to assist. This was only one way, and only one location of hundreds that I contacted. The changes announced by the UN, I felt justified using FOI request procedures- then these organizations have a record of a UN alert. Then they can request the new documents. I hear your concern, but hope I did not misuse this procedure.
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Jeremy Hilton left an annotation ()
Hopefully the UN didn't deem it necessary to send their new guidance on solitary confinement and electroshock therapy to Abacus Primary School.
This website itself should vet FOI requests, and weed out any requests that are vexatious, offensive or that simply don't conform to the FOI act.
Otherwise it gives ammunition to the opponents of FOI who say it is a waste of public money and time to answer them. By the standards of this request, they would be right.