High Court upholds prisoner's Ramadan codeine discrimination ruling against NHS trust

Right · 2The High Court has dismissed an appeal by Birmingham Community Healthcare NHS Trust against a ruling that its handling of a prisoner's codeine during Ramadan amounted to indirect religious discrimination, in a judgment issued on 29 September. 1 2 Right · 2The claimant is Dahir Ibrahim, 41, a Somali national serving a life sentence for rape; he was jailed for 10 years in 2006 for raping three women and given a life sentence with a minimum term of 10 years in 2016 for raping two more women in Birmingham in 2014. 1 2 Right · 2The dispute dates to May 2019, when Ibrahim was held at HMP Birmingham and prescribed codeine for knee pain; inmates had to attend a medication hatch at fixed times in the morning and afternoon. 2 1

Right · 2Some medication was issued in 'Ramadan packs' to be taken in cells between sunset and dawn, but codeine was excluded because of its psychoactive effects and the risk of misuse. 1 2 Right · 2On 6 May 2019 a nurse told Ibrahim the codeine could not be taken away and would have to be taken there and then under supervision; Ibrahim refused, and the same happened over the next two days. 1 2 Right · 2On 9 May Ibrahim was given paracetamol that could be taken away, but said they suffered withdrawal symptoms from missing the codeine. 1 2

Right · 1Ibrahim, after being moved to HMP Whatton, brought a claim alleging breaches of rights to private life, freedom of religion and freedom from discrimination; in 2024 Birmingham County Court, under Judge Mohammed Shakil Najib, found indirect religious discrimination under Article 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights but dismissed the private life and religion claims. 1 Right · 1On appeal, the trust's deputy head of healthcare, Gemma McKone, argued that providing routine codeine outside fasting hours would be 'completely impractical' given that tens of thousands of supervised prescriptions are given each month, and a GP said two officers would be needed when staffing was limited. 1 Right · 1Mr Justice Soole rejected the appeal, saying the trust 'had given no thought to the possibility of providing Mr Ibrahim with his prescribed medication by any alternative procedure'; the Daily Mail reports the court heard that special out-of-hours arrangements already existed for some prisoners and that Ibrahim received codeine at night when briefly back at HMP Birmingham for the 2024 hearing. 1

Right · 2The judge rejected the trust's warning that the ruling could open the floodgates to further claims, saying the decision rested on very particular facts; no compensation order was made, though the case is expected to inform future prison healthcare decisions. 1 2 Right · 1A trust spokesperson said it respects the judgment, will learn from it and is committed to preventing discrimination at HMP Birmingham; the Home Office said it will pursue Ibrahim's deportation at the earliest opportunity after release, and the Parole Board said the case is under review with no hearing date set. 1