22/06/2022
A short term prison sentence ended up being a death sentence for one young man living with HIV, after the authorities denied him the care that he was legally entitled to and which would have kept him alive. That was the finding of what LGBTQIA newswire Pink News described as a “damning report” by the prisons Ombudsman Sue McAllister, who found that Thokozani Shiri passed away in early 2019 having been repeatedly denied life saving HIV medications. Shiri’s family said in a statement provided by law firm Leigh Day: “Thoko was just like any young man – he loved life, his friends and family. “He was exploring what the world had to offer him, but he ended up on the wrong side of the law, culminating in a short-term custodial sentence. As a family we had great hopes that this would allow him to reflect and look to a brighter future.” Deborah Gold, chief executive of National AIDS Trust, added “It is shocking that a young man died whilst in the care of the state from a condition that is entirely treatable. Most people with HIV in the UK live long healthy lives.”.
