Alun Jones KC and Muin Boase, instructed by Karen Todner, have today lodged applications for habeas corpus in the High Court on behalf of four prisoners serving sentences of Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP), following their successful complaint to the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD).
The proceedings are brought on behalf of Leroy Douglas, Wayne Williams, Shaun Lloyd and Abdullahi Suleman, all of whom remain detained under IPP sentences imposed approximately two decades ago. The applications seek their release by way of habeas corpus.
The High Court proceedings follow the landmark Opinion No. 16/2026 of the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention. The Opinion was adopted at the Working Group’s 105th session and published on 23 July 2026. It concerned the four applicants together with a fifth petitioner, Joshua McRae, who has died in custody and whose inquest will be heard in October.
The Working Group concluded that the continued detention of the surviving applicants was arbitrary and unlawful as a matter of international law.
The individual circumstances demonstrate the extraordinary duration of the IPP regime. Mr Douglas received a tariff of two years and six months and, at the time of the UN proceedings, had spent approximately 18 years and 10 months in custody without ever having been released. Mr Williams was sentenced as a teenager with a tariff of less than two years and has never been released, having spent more than 19 years in custody. Mr Suleman received a tariff of just over three years and nine months and has spent more than 18 years in custody, while Mr Lloyd was sentenced in 2006 and has subsequently been released and recalled.
The case originated through the work of Dr Muin Boase, who investigated and took up the cases of the five petitioners. The complaint before the United Nations was conducted by Dr Boase with the subsequent support of leading counsel, Alun Jones KC.
The applications now ask the High Court to address the legality of the four men’s continuing detention in domestic law following the UN’s findings.
The potential significance extends considerably beyond the four applicants. Evidence filed in the proceedings records that, as at 31 March 2026, 2,329 IPP prisoners remained in custody, including 896 who had never been released and 1,433 who had been recalled.
Karen Todner of Karen Todner Limited acts as solicitor for the applicants. Alun Jones KC and Dr Muin Boase of Great James Street Chambers are instructed as counsel.
The applications have now been lodged in the Administrative Court, King’s Bench Division of the High Court.
We will provide further updates as these landmark proceedings progress.
Please contact Karen Todner at karentodner@karentodner.com for further enquiries.