Please download the application form and job description below.

To apply, please upload a completed application form by 23:59 GMT on 02 March 2025.

Please note that cover letters, CVs and other documents cannot be considered for this role and should not be submitted. 

 

Reprieve works with the most disenfranchised people in society. Our aim is simple: to consign the death penalty and abuses carried out in the name of “counter-terrorism” or “national security” to history, drawing public and political attention to these past harms with a view to preventing them from occurring again. 

 

In our view, you can best judge a society by how it treats prisoners, criminal defendants, and the far-flung targets of an ever-changing counter-terror policy. To us, the rule of law means little if we selectively apply it to people we agree with. It is for all of us. Liberty is always eroded at the margins. 

 

Reprieve’s staff is made up of courageous and committed human rights defenders. Founded in 1999, we provide free legal and investigative support to people facing the death penalty and those victimised by states’ abusive counter-terror policies – rendition, torture, arbitrary detention and extrajudicial killing. 

 

We fight our clients’ cases in courts around the world; investigate their mistreatment; and advocate on their behalf, encouraging public and political debate of human rights issues. 

 

Reprieve’s main office is in Aldgate, London, UK. Reprieve also supports full-time Fellows, who work as lawyers, investigators and campaigners in the countries in which we work. We work closely with a number of partner organisations in jurisdictions all over the world, who provide access to clients, expertise, knowledge and guidance on specific issues or regions. We work in cooperation with relevant government officials, individual lawyers and human rights defenders, as well as individual, corporate and foundation funders to further the cause of our shared goals.

 

Reprieve works in close partnership with its independent sibling organisation Reprieve US.  This collaboration is mutually beneficial to both Reprieve and Reprieve US as it enables each organisation to work more effectively and take advantage of the strategic locations to increase the impact of our work.

About the Role:

 

The Unlawful Detentions Teams Caseworker will undertake a range of casework activities in support of Reprieve’s work on cases of unlawful detention, which comprises our work on detention cases in North East Syria (NES), and our Guantánamo Bay and Life after Guantánamo Projects.

 

 

There are currently thousands of people indefinitely detained in camps and prisons in NES, in conditions the UN has found to be inhumane and degrading. Reprieve aims to ensure that individuals detained in Syria are treated in line with international law, and not subjected to the death penalty, extrajudicial execution, arbitrary detention, torture or rendition. Where possible, we advocate for the release and repatriation of foreign nationals detained in NES, many of whom are victims of trafficking and / or minors. We also advocate for and support clients and their children after their release from arbitrary detention.

 

Through our work we also aim to challenge and change flawed ‘war on terror’ narratives and legal and political frameworks – including in the UK, Europe and the US – that engender state-sanctioned discrimination and abuse and undermine the rule of law and human rights and sometimes create two-tiered layers of citizenship rights for ethnic minorities in Western countries. For example, the British people detained in NES are often arbitrarily deprived of their citizenship, under powers that are used almost exclusively against Muslims, mainly of South Asian, Middle Eastern, and African heritage. This is done in an attempt to place them outside the reach of the law, and to avoid giving them the consular and legal protections to which they are entitled as citizens. 

 

Reprieve was one of the very first organisations allowed inside Guantánamo. Since then, we have secured freedom for more than 80 men illegally detained without charge or trial – more than any other organisation. Our unique Life after Guantánamo (LAG) project helps prisoners who have been released from Guantanamo but still face extreme human rights abuses related to their status as former Guantanamo detainees. 

 
For full details including a person specification please review the job description. 

 
This is a full-time role on a fixed term, 12 month contract subject to extension depending on funding. The annual salary is £42,193 full-time per annum, less any required deductions for income tax and national insurance. 

 

This role is based in Reprieve’s London office. Reprieve operates a hybrid working model and we require staff to work 2 days per week from the London office and the rest of the week from home. Applicants must have the right to work in the UK currently and for the duration of the contract which will be checked prior to interview.

 

Your presence is important during core office hours, whether remotely or in the office. You will also be available outside of office hours in the event of an emergency, for example case developments that require urgent action. This is a role that may require travel and work outside of core office hours from time to time.

 

Reprieve is proud to have an open and transparent pay structure, governed by a 2:1 pay ratio between the highest-paid member of staff and the lowest-paid member of staff. We are a flexible employer and offer a range of nonfinancial benefits to employees. We welcome applications from a range of backgrounds. You can learn more about Reprieve’s salary structure and ethos here: https://reprieve.org/uk/our-governance/our-pay-structure/ 

 

Reprieve is an equal opportunity employer and we particularly welcome applicants from Black and minority ethnic communities, members of the LGBTQI community, and those with disabilities. Reprieve is committed to fighting racism and advancing racial justice, both in our work and within Reprieve. For more information please see our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Statement here: https://reprieve.org/uk/equality-diversity-inclusion/ 

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Please only click apply below once you have completed your application form.

Please note that cover letters, CVs and other documents cannot be considered for this role and should not be submitted.