More than 80 people have been arrested, and 13 jailed, for breaches of emergency powers regulations.

Home Affairs Minister Graham Cregeen insisted that no detainee had been subject to degrading or inhuman treatment during their time at Isle of Man Prison.

Island advocate Ian Kermode has raised human rights concerns about the treatment of all new arrivals at the jail who have to spend 14 days on an isolation wing while the prison is in lockdown.

He claims they have been denied access to daily showers, changes of clothing and exercise.

Similar concerns have been raised by the island’s Law Society and the local branch of Amnesty International.

A Freedom of Information request revealed that there have been 27 prisoners who have spent time on the isolation wing as of May 7, and on that date there were seven inmates on the wing.

In a virtual sitting of the House of Keys last Friday, the Home Affairs Minister said that as of May 12, 84 had been arrested for breach of emergency powers regulations.

Some 24 had been on remand for Covid breaches, of which eight were on remand on May 12. Fifteen had been convicted and 13 jailed.

A total of four fixed penalty notices had been issued.

Mr Cregeen told MHKs: ’No detainee irrespective of their offence has been subject to degrading or inhumane treatment contrary to article 3 of the Convention on Human Rights in the Isle of Man Prison.’

issues

He said the Independent Monitoring Board had raised no issues.

The Minister said he was aware that both the Law Society and Amnesty International are taking this seriously and that his ’department is dealing with these matters’.

He explained there had been in effect three different regimes in place on the isolation wing, the most restrictive one being when a Covid-positive inmate was admitted.

The first regime allowed showers twice a week and one on reception, and exercise twice a week after showers, drinking water available in the cell and access to a landing phone to contact families and advocates.

The most restrictive regime only lasted 14 days and allowed one shower on reception and items provided to allow washing from the sink in the cell.

No exercise was available but an in-cell exercise pack was provided. Drinking water was available from the sink in the cell. Advocates could be contacted by mobile phone provided on request. Messages and letters could be passed to families.

Rules have now been relaxed as the jail no longer has a Covid-positive detainee.

Two showers a week plus one on reception are allowed and inmates can do exercise twice a week and use the in-cell exercise pack.

There is drinking water in the cell and prisoners can use the phone on the landing to contact their families and their lawyer.

Police stressed that the prison is not full of Covid prisoners but the arrests are made to keep the island safe. They pointed out that some have been arrested more than once and often other offences are involved too.

A fixed penalty ticket or a final warning are options but some appeared in court and were jailed mainly for two, three or four weeks and would normally serve a portion of that time.

’We do this Covid work at a risk to ourselves to keep you all safe and when we don’t have to we will stop,’ a spokesman said.