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Probe after inmate dies at Belmarsh high-security prison


By PA News



An investigation has been launched after an inmate died at Belmarsh prison.

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) confirmed a prisoner had died on Monday and an investigation was under way.

Stella Moris, the partner of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, spoke out about the incident.

Stella Moris (Yui Mok/PA)
Stella Moris (Yui Mok/PA)

She said the man was being held on the same wing Assange in the high-security jail in south-east London and they were friends.

In a post on Twitter she claimed the man was a Brazilian named Manoel Santos, who had lived in the UK for 20 years and had been served with a deportation notice by the Home Office.

She added: “Julian wants to express his condolences to Manoel’s friends and family.

“Julian tells me Manoel was an excellent tenor.

Assange is being held in Belmarsh (Dominic Lipinski/PA)
Assange is being held in Belmarsh (Dominic Lipinski/PA)

“He helped Julian read letters in Portuguese, and he was a friend.

“He feared deportation to Brazil after 20 years, being gay put him at risk where he was from.”

A Prison Service spokeswoman said: “The Prisons and Probation Ombudsman has been informed following a death in custody at HMP Belmarsh on 2 November.”

The Home Office has been contacted for comment.

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