Jailed blogger and former Dundee University rector Craig Murray has appealed for compassionate release from prison over fears he could die as a result of a Covid outbreak on his wing.
Craig Murray, who started an eight-month prison sentence for contempt of court in August, is said to be sharing a corridor with 15 other prisoners who have tested positive for coronavirus.
Murray was sent to prison over blogs he published relating to the criminal trial of former First Minister Alex Salmond.
The court found Murray had shared information on his blog that could have identified women who had complained about Mr Salmond.
A statement from the “Craig Murray Justice Committee”, which is campaigning for his release, said Murray could be in danger because of a coronavirus outbreak at HMP Edinburgh.
A spokesperson for the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) said there are around 40 cases at Saughton with 150 self-isolating.
The group claims 15 out of the 60 inmates on Murray’s prison wing are infected.
A spokeswoman for the committee said Murray has been denied a Covid test he requested at the beginning of the outbreak despite his “serious underlying health conditions”.
She also claimed no routine testing had taken place in the prison since Murray started his term in August, something the group have called for.
Craig Murray Justice Committee chairman Donnie Blair said: “While we continue to campaign to overturn Craig’s unjust prosecution, our focus has had to turn urgently to protecting his life.
“He has a serious health condition, making him very vulnerable to Covid but continues to be imprisoned – with insufficient Covid safeguards – where many prisoners have already contracted the disease. He does not even have access to a Covid test.
“This is happening because the Scottish Government refuses to address a glaring loophole in its own measures to protect vulnerable prisoners from Covid and to put civil prisoners on an equal footing with criminal prisoners.
“It is very hard to believe that the Scottish Government is taking seriously its duty to protect the life of Craig Murray in these circumstances.
“Had Craig been a criminal prisoner he would have been released from prison weeks ago and might not have been imprisoned in the first place.”
A spokesperson for the prison service said any suggestion the prison is not following guidelines is untrue.
He said: “We have been impacted by Covid cases throughout the pandemic; it is almost impossible to prevent Covid coming in.
“What we do is isolate those individuals impacted and their close contacts to protect those in the prison service.
“We have been incredibly robust in all our procedures.”
It comes as Kirkcaldy MP Neale Hanvey and former SNP Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill, who both defected to Alex Salmond’s Alba party, tabled a motion in the House of Commons.
The MPs say an inequity in Scots law prevented Murray from being released early for good behaviour.
Hanvey and MacAskill have also called for the Scottish Government to consider a request by the Craig Murray Justice Committee to release Craig Murray on “compassionate grounds”.
A Scottish Government spokesperson said they are working with the Scottish Prison Service and NHS to “ensure the health, wellbeing and safety of all those in the care of SPS during this pandemic”.
They added: “The positive cases at HMP Edinburgh are being robustly monitored in conjunction with a local multi-disciplinary incident team.
“Consistent with Public Health Scotland Covid-19 guidance for prison settings, anyone in the care of SPS who develops symptoms suggesting possible Covid-19, will be clinically assessed.
“If the individual’s condition suggests Covid-19, a PCR test will be carried out by the prison-based NHS staff.
“Asymptomatic PCR testing for prisoner admissions and routine staff testing is in place at HMP Edinburgh.”
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