- Bidar battles obsolete indefinite sentence
- Describes imprisonment as “hell”
- Awaits parole review outcome
Nicholas Bidar has remained incarcerated since his 2009 sentencing to an indefinite term with an eight-year minimum tariff for a series of robberies and resisting arrest while brandishing a firearm at police officers.
An individual incarcerated for an indefinite imprisonment term, which was eliminated over a decade ago, has characterised his ongoing incarceration as “hell” while pleading for his release.
Nicholas Bidar, age 36, is among the tens of thousands of offenders who are still incarcerated years after serving Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) sentences, having exceeded their minimum tariff.
Distinguishing themselves from the more severe Whole Life Orders (WLO), these sentences were introduced during the Labour administration 2005. However, they were discontinued as a sentencing alternative 2012 under the Conservative-Lib Dem coalition.
Due to the decision not to conduct this retrospective, however, many individuals present during the dismantling of IPPs have remained indoors.
Bidar, age 22, received an indefinite sentence with a minimum tariff of eight years in 2009 in connection with a series of robberies and resisting arrest while brandishing a firearm at police officers.
In addition to evading capture in 2012, he attempted to plunder while in flight.
Despite the expiration of the minimum term of Bidar’s sentence in 2017, he continues to be incarcerated.
On Monday, he became the first inmate serving an IPP whose parole review was conducted in public, following legislative changes intended to eliminate the process’s opacity.
A panel of Parole Board members will determine whether he should be released from jail, transferred to a lesser security prison, or continue incarcerated.
Bidar spoke on Monday at the maximum security prison HMP Long Lartin in Worcestershire regarding the repercussions of the indefinite sentence.
“This sentence is affecting my entire family,” Bidar stated. This is my sole opportunity. I am currently residing in the most unfavourable environment conceivable. It annoys me here.
“Each day is a torment.” It is truly torment.
“I only want one opportunity; if I fail, it will be my fault.” My mother’s advancing age is so painful to endure.
“I am not a lunatic, and I have no intention of committing some ludicrous act of violence.” “All I want to do is go home.”
Bidar responded when queried by the parole commission regarding the motivations behind his criminal activities, “I was a juvenile. It certainly had everything to do with one’s lifestyle, peers, and immaturity.
He continued, “Upon reflection, it seems it was never me.” It’s as if I were incarcerated for the offences of another. “I am no longer that person in that regard.”
When asked when the decision to discharge a firearm at police officers was made, Bidar responded, “I intended to frighten them away from pursuing us.” “While not directed at them, I discharged it as a deterrent.”
A prison offender manager, however, testified on Monday that they believed Bidar failed the requirements for release or transfer to an open prison.
According to them, Bidar’s most recent act of physical aggression against staff occurred in 2021, when he assaulted three prison officers and forced them to use a liquid resembling pepper spray to subdue him.
A subsequent determination will be rendered regarding Bidar’s case, and a synopsis of the recommendation is customarily released approximately 14 days after the conclusion of the hearing.
The unnamed prison offender manager told the panel: “It is disheartening that each year there have been more negative than positive entries in the case notes.
While he may exhibit a cordial demeanour when in that state of mind, he can become extremely impolite and obstinate when confronted.
They further stated that he had conducted and made “inappropriate remarks” towards female prison personnel throughout his entire sentence.
Bidar’s attorney, Dean Kingham, told the panel, “We have no evidence that any of the offensive verbal comments have exceeded the threshold for serious harm, despite their unpleasant nature.”
Bidar stated that hearing reports of his remarks was “not pleasant” and added that he might have expressed himself in a “cheeky or rude” manner while incarcerated.
He further stated, “I do not believe it is just to continue detaining me in a high-security jail for an additional two years while treating me as if I were a psychotic murderer.”
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The prison offender manager further stated that Bidar had been involved in incidents within the correctional facility involving wagering, weapon possession, and alcohol abuse.
Following the conclusion of the public portion of the hearing on Monday afternoon, it resumed in private on Tuesday.
IPP sentences were implemented in 2005 to prevent the release of life-threatening offenders who had committed severe offences but did not merit such sentences.
However, notwithstanding its abolition in 2012, an estimated 3,000 offenders continue to be incarcerated on account of such sentences.
As a result of rule changes, the government has since pledged that hundreds of rehabilitated offenders may have their sentences terminated by 2025; this may entail an earlier expiration of their licence period.
