I, Steve Willcox, British Citizen was arrested in Thailand on April 21st 2003 for 25 grams of category 1 drug found in the house I was living. You may consider this to be a small quantity of drugs for personal use but in Thailand even a small quantity of drugs for personal use may well be considered as distribution by Thailand’s Law and have severe consequences. Being arrested and sentenced to serve a term of imprisonment in Thailand is a terrifying experience, human rights violations in Thailand’s judicial system as well as cruel and inhuman degrading treatment, horrifying conditions in prisons. Thailand hands out some of the most severe penalties for drug offences in the world. i.e. death penalty, life sentence, 50 year sentence and in my case 33 years 6 month and a fine of £ 11.000. A comparable sentence for my crime in England would probably require me to serve a term of imprisonment of less than 1 year.

It was with great relief when I learned of the Bilateral Transfer Treaty of Prisoners between Thailand and England, allowing British citizens imprisoned in Thailand to transfer to a prison back home to serve their term of imprisonment close to their families and not in a country whose language, culture and environment is completely alien to them. My relief since learning of the Terms and Conditions of that Treaty have now turned to total horror and disbelief at how unfair, if not yet another breach of my human rights, but this time not by Thailand but the British Government. I am convinced that the Thailand – England Treaty was deliberately drawn up in such a way by the British Government to discourage prisoners, such as myself on a determinate sentence (i.e. fixed number of years), to transfer home. In the same breath, the British Government can falsely claim by agreeing to a Prisoner Transfer Treaty with Thailand, it did so in order to give British citizens held in Thailand’s prisons the opportunity to serve their sentences within their own society and facilitate the successful reintegration of offenders into society.

For a prisoner on an indeterminate sentence (i.e. no fixed number of years) you must have served 8 years of your sentence to qualify to transfer. A prisoner serving a determinate sentence of 4 years or more, whether convicted and transferring from Thailand or convicted in England is automatically released from custody in England once they have served two – thirds of their sentence. Again those prisoners serving a sentence of 4 years or more are eligible for consideration for release on parole licence once they have served one half of their original sentence. Obviously a life sentence (indeterminate) is a more serious and longer sentence than any sentence with a fixed number of years. All prisoners serving a life sentence in England and those who transfer from Thailand have a tariff set, (the tariff is the minimum period that must be served before they can be considered for release on licence).

When the Judge sentenced me, he stated that my sentence of 33years and 6 month is one- third less than a life sentence. According to Thailand’s Law, a life sentence prisoner is eligible for parole, release on licence after serving a term of 10 years imprisonment. So my sentence being one-third less than a life sentence, I would be eligible for parole according to Thailand’s Law after serving a term of 6 years 8 months imprisonment.

In 1995 a British Citizen was arrested for the importation of Heroin in Thailand and later sentenced to life imprisonment. On August 12th 2004 this British Citizen became the first ever prisoner on a life sentence to transfer on the Thailand – England Prisoner Transfer Treaty. The Lord Chief Justice of England set a provisional tariff and it was then later formally set by the High Court of England to 10 years. 10 years tariff being the same term of imprisonment required by Thailand’s Law for a life sentence prisoner to serve before being eligible for parole(release on licence). When I enquired to the Home Office in England, about my own eligibility date to be considered for parole, (once I have transferred back to England on the Treaty). I was told by Paul Goggins MP (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State) click here that I would only be, automatically released from custody in England once I have served two-thirds of the balance of my sentence remaining at the date of my transfer to England. The balance of my sentence is calculated by deducting the time I have served in prison in Thailand. 4 years being the minimum I have to serve in a Thai prison before being eligible for transfer on the treaty to England. 4 years time served in Thailand deducted from my original sentence of 33 years and 6 months leaves me with a balance of sentence of 29 years 6 months. Of which according to the terms of the treaty and Mr. Paul Goggins, I have to serve two-thirds of 29 years 6 months, which is 19 years 8 months plus the 4 years I will have already served in a prison in Thailand. That equals a total of 23 years 8 months imprisonment. I would only be eligible for consideration for release on parole Licence once I have served one half of my original sentence, that being16 years 9month.

How on earth can this be considered (as stated in the treaty) “To facilitate the successful reintegration of offenders into Society” or fair to the earlier mentioned prisoners life sentence?

This prisoner was eligible for parole after a total term of imprisonment of 10 years. Where I am eligible after a total of 16 years 9 months and up to 23 years 8 months, yet my sentence is a one-third less than the mentioned prisoner. Is this British Justice? Repeated request’s from British citizens held in Thailand’s prisons since 1992 to various government departments in England, have the same response, “we are looking into it and its likely to take some time.”

Steve Willcox
Bangkwang Prison
Building 6,
117 Nonthanburi Road
Nonthanburi 11000, Thailand