Mentally Ill Inmate Kept In Solitary For 2 Months

An inmate with mental health issues has been in solitary confinement at Litla Hraun maximum security prison for the last 2 months, reports RÚV.

The man has in the past spent years in the psychiatric ward of Iceland’s National University Hospital. Two years ago however, he was deemed mentally competent enough to serve out the remainder of his – undisclosed – sentence at Litla Hraun.

The prison withheld therapy from the inmate – who was diagnosed with psychopathy – for a year and a half before granting him treatment this past spring.

Recently the inmate began refusing to take his medication and as a result he was deemed a danger to the guards and other inmates.

The Director-General of Prison and Probation Administration told RÚV that it is very rare that inmates are kept in solitary confinement for such extensive periods of time and that the situation is unacceptable.

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