Final dates for a trial involving the treatment of inmates at the Isle of Man Prison have been set for next year. 

A case management hearing was held at court on Monday, November 21, at which final trial dates were set for the week beginning Monday, May 15, 2023. 

The legal action involves a number of people who were detained on the Isolation Wing at Jurby Prison in April and May 2020 during the first Covid-19 lockdown. 

The claimants allege a breach of Article 3, which is the right not to be subject to torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, and Article 8, the right to respect for private and family life, of the European Convention on Human Rights. 

This is together with negligence by the Department of Home Affairs

All of the claims are denied by the defendant. 

The department is represented by Attorney General Walter Wannenburgh and all of the detainees are represented (in a single consolidated claim) by advocate Ian Kermode. 

Five consecutive days have been allocated to the final court hearing in May 2023, which will be presided over by Deemster Cope.