British nationals in detention or prison overseas

If a relative or friend has been detained or held in prison overseas, this is the support we can give.

If your relative or friend has asked us to, we will tell you assoon as we can, that they have been detained or held in prison.However, to protect their confidentiality, we will not provide anydetails of the detention or arrest, or tell you how to contact them,unless they have given us permission.

Prison conditions

We can provide general information about the country involved, prison conditions and the local legal system.

We can put you in touch with the prisoners’ welfare charity, Prisoners Abroad.

If the prison where your friend or relative is being detainedagrees, we can pass on any money you want to send to buy prison‘comforts’, use the phone and so on.

In many countries, mail sent or received by the prisoner will beopened and read by the authorities, and phone conversations may bemonitored.