Sentenced to death – the journalist and justice campaigner unlawfully punished by the UK justice system and denied cancer treatment
Cancer-stricken mum of two Farah Damji, who fights for women’s rights, has filed a High Court appeal over her ‘unsafe’ conviction and six-year sentence as she battles a stage 3 cancer diagnosis and complex Post-traumatic stress disorder diagnosis
LONDON, September 2025 — Farah Damji, writer, activist, artist and stage 3 breast cancer patient, has filed a High Court appeal challenging her conviction and six-year sentence for stalking and fraud against her former partner Dr. Nigel Gould-Davies, 59. The sentence was handed down by HHJ Joanna Greenberg KC at Wood Green Crown Court on 11 July 2025.
Farah’s new legal team, Julian Hardy from Brooklyn Law and James Marsden Barrister of Paper Buildings, describes the conviction as unsafe and the sentence as grossly excessive, citing serious procedural failings, suppression of key evidence, and unlawful disregard of her mental health during sentencing. It is evident that this prosecution is political, because the Attorney General has referred her to the court of appeal as unduly lenient
Mental Health and Failure to Observe Sentencing Guidelines
Farah lives with complex PTSD, depression, anxiety, and emotionally unstable personality traits. This was confirmed in a pre-sentence report for the court prepared by leading forensic psychiatrist Dr. Gaurav Malhan. These diagnoses are officially recognised as mitigating factors under English sentencing guidelines. Judge Greenberg, however, stated she would give “zero” weight to her mental health, a move Farah’s team calls unlawful and central to the appeal.
Disclosure Failures and Double Standards
At trial, the complainant, Dr. Nigel Gould-Davies, withheld his phone and laptop for months, delaying the authentication of key digital evidence. He handed over his phone 4 days before the original trial date and whatsapp messages were downloaded by the police officer, Yasmin Rinsler, not the police forensic lab or a forensic “In a rape trial, a woman would have to hand over everything—why wasn’t the same required of Nigel?” Farah asked.
Her defence argues this double standard severely undermined the fairness of proceedings.
Disputed Relationship, Timeline, and Theft Allegation
Prosecutors portrayed Farah as an obsessive stalker. Her legal team presented an alternate view: that Farah and Gould-Davies were in a consensual, intimate relationship, living together and regularly communicating. Gould-Davies claims to a security expert and a righteous specialist but he claims he never knew her real name. Witnesses for the defence gave evidence about how theyd seen the couple together in a loving relationship and he was calling her Farah. They also provided evidence that Farah was in Spain during some of the alleged stalking incidents.Gould-Davies claimed she went to Spain to stalk his mother. In fact she went to Spain with her friend Dr. Miro Dobrev as she had been asked to create murals for a boutique hotel in Nerja
The theft charge — related to Gould-Davies’ passport — is also contested. The passport was left among Farah’s personal belongings and never reported stolen until much later. Her team describes this as a deliberate setup to reinforce a false narrative of theft.
Evidence of Abuse Ignored
Farah submitted photographs of injuries and alleged that Gould-Davies physically assaulted her. He pushed her down the stairs at the oxford and cambridge club in Pall Mall, when she objected to him going out with Tatiana Martinez, a former sex parter he met on Bumble, the dating site . Additional witness statements from other women, including Jean Lee and Amalia Bianchi, two former partners of Gould-Davies described similar coercive behavior by Gould-Davies.
At one point, I visited University College London Hospital due to unexplained bleeding. The doctor asked if I had been sexually assaulted. I said I had not. When I told Nigel about this, he seemed angry, which I found odd. He also spoke about his ex-girlfriend, Amalia Bianchi, who he said had the same birthday as me (17th February). He told me she had claimed to be pregnant with his child but that he had worked out the dates and believed it was impossible. I did not like the way he spoke about her.
Despite her willingness to testify, Farah’s former defence team opted not to pursue a bad character application against Gould-Davies so that this critical evidence could be included in the trial.
Inflammatory Language and Judicial Misconduct
Judge Greenberg’s sympathies lay with Gould -Davies way before trial. At a hearing in November 12025 when the defence requested Gould-Davies’s NHS medical records and his AXA private health records, which confirm he has long standing mental health issues, Judge Greenberg described him as vulnerable and a victim. The CPS prosecutor christian Moll told the court that they had obtained Gould-Davies’s medical records. In fact Gould- Davies never consented for his medical records to be released. In agreed facts put before the jury, which were extracted from 3 letters from Gould-Davies’s GP surgery there is evidence of mental health issues including depression and anxiety in April 2023 well before Goul-davies met Farah
Judge Greenberg referred to Farah as “greedy” and “wicked” in her sentencing remarks — language supporters call prejudicial, and damaging. These comments are now publicly archived on the Ministry of Justice website, potentially impacting Farah’s future irreversibly. Farah has been subjected to this type of language and adverse judicial comment for decades.
Judge Greenberg has previously faced criticism for her handling of misogyny-related cases, including blaming a 16-year-old rape victim for “grooming” her 42-year-old Religious Education teacher.
Weaponisation of the Court System
Stalking and Harassment Laws which were designed to protect women are being abused by the police and the CPS to criminalize inconvenient women
Farah’s legal team argues that Gould-Davies used the court system as a tool of abuse, employing psychological projection — or object transference — to frame her as the perpetrator. “This is a man using the state to continue violence against a woman,” said Leigh Welsh, an advocate. “It’s not personal—it’s systemic.”
Institutional Harassment and Media Complicity
Despite Farah’s cancer diagnosis and ongoing appeal, the Ministry of Justice published the sentencing remarks online immediately after the sentencing hearing — a move supporters call state-sanctioned harassment. Such publicity, they argue, is usually reserved for terrorism or national security or other high profile cases.
The Ministry also spent over €250,000 extraditing Farah from Ireland after she fled what she described as relentless abuse by both the Ministry of justice and Metropolitan Police. Meanwhile, despite claims that the Ministry of justice actively encouraged media coverage, most journalists declined to report on the case except for the evening standard owned by Russian Olligarc, Evgeny Lebedev .
Medical Neglect in Prison
An application for early release on Compassionate Grounds has been made to the Governor at HMP Eastwood Park, Zoe Short, supported by prison GP, Dr. Jake Hard. Farah’s oncologist Dr. Ottaviani has made an application for special funding so that Farah can access PHESGO as a standalone chemotherapy drug that will substantially enhance her prognosis and survivorship.
While on remand from March 2024 to August 2025 at HMP Bronzefield, Farah missed 22 hospital appointments, causing her to miss critical treatment windows for chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Her survival prognosis has now dropped to 20% over the next decade — raising urgent concerns about medical neglect in English women’s prisons. Amongst the excuses found in her medical notes, HMP bronzefield security department refused to sign off on the Prison escort documents because two female prison officers were not available. Farah has never demanded two female officers and on every other escort there have been both male and female officers
Broader Justice Failures
“Farah’s case exposes the ugly underbelly of how the justice system treats neurodivergent, chronically ill, and minoritised women,” said Holly Bright, a spokesperson for The View Magazine, a platform for women in the criminal justice system. She added: “I’m disgusted but not surprised, and we will do everything we can with the tools in our arsenal to hold these people to account.”
Susan Pease Banitt, a Harvard-trained social worker and psychotherapist with five decades of experience treating survivors of extreme trauma, echoed this sentiment: “Farah has experienced a lot of trauma in her life,” Susan said. “Despite her own struggles, she is deeply committed to helping other women. She is a fierce warrior for justice, she has managed to grow her organisation and advocate for women prisoners. With kindness, treatment, and support, Farah is a great asset to society.”
The View Magazine Launches Powerful Issue 14: A Groundbreaking Exploration of Motherhood, Justice and Resistance
July 2025 London, UK — The View Magazine, the award-winning independent platform dedicated to amplifying the voices of women impacted by the criminal justice system, proudly announces the release of Issue 14 — a bold, 230+ page bumper summer edition that confronts maternal incarceration, medical neglect, and systemic injustice with fearless storytelling, investigative journalism, and radical art.
This latest issue places the trauma of giving birth behind bars and the lifelong impact of mother-child separation, at its emotional and political centre. The harsh reality is that since 2017, an estimated 350 babies have been born in UK prisons, a figure that not only demands public attention but urgent systemic reflection.
Issue 14 peels back the layers of silence and stigma surrounding maternal incarceration, offering an unflinching look at what it means to experience pregnancy, labour, and early motherhood under state control. These are not just numbers or isolated stories, they are lived realities of women forced to navigate one of the most profound human experiences in one of the most dehumanising environments.
Clare Simms, Editor, shared her reflections on the release of Issue 14 of The View Magazine, highlighting the resilience behind its creation despite immense pressure from the state.
“Despite continued harassment by the British government, constant attacks on our website, social media and email accounts, I’m very pleased to publish the 14th edition of The View Magazine. One of our board members was told in 2020 that Farah Damji, one of the founders, was considered to be in conflict with the British government. This is why she has been subjected to more than 5 years of unlawful recalls, malicious and dangerous allegations by national probation staff and Alice in Wonderland style Crown Court proceedings. Most recently before Judge Joanna Greenberg at Wood Green Crown Court.”
Farah’s ongoing battle with stage 3 breast cancer has not stopped her tireless advocacy. She continues to fight for the rights of criminalised and incarcerated women, and her efforts remain at the core of The View’s mission.
“Despite all of this and struggling with stage 3 breast cancer, she continues to fight for the rights of oppressed women. In these pages, readers will glimpse the darkness and wickedness upon which our criminal justice system is rooted. The experience of women remain at the heart of all that we do. We’re living in dangerous times when the act of protest against the secret Israeli defence factory in England results in charges under the counterterrorism legislation.”
Clare went on to highlight some of the standout contributions in the latest issue:
“The stories that have touched me deeply in this edition are those of Claire and Sukaina, mothers of two young women held at the private prison HMP Bronzefield, their struggles and their light and the powerful repurposing of prisons, a photo essay by Sophia Franco.”
She also expressed gratitude for the community that makes the magazine possible:
“Thanks as always to the army of volunteer writers, editors and supporters who have made this issue possible. We are blessed to be in a position where we can be heard and amplify the voices and experiences of women the state is oppressing, silencing and I believe in Farah’s case, trying to kill.”
Finally, Clare touched on The View’s growing multimedia presence:
“Our Rebel Justice podcast is building from strength to strength and over the next few weeks, you’ll hear more experiences, and ideas from the forefront by people who are transforming our brutal and brutalizing justice system.”
Through raw and intimate first-person testimony, groundbreaking investigative journalism, and original artwork created both inside and outside prison walls, this edition gives voice to the deep pain, quiet resilience, and radical resistance of incarcerated mothers. It explores how the trauma of forced separation reverberates through a lifetime — for both mother and child — and calls into question the ethics and consequences of a system that punishes not only women, but also the next generation.
Issue 14 doesn’t just spotlight the problem — it centres the people living through it, reclaiming their narratives from statistics and stereotypes. It demands that we listen, and that we act.
Key features include:
- The truth behind maternal incarceration: Exploring the trauma of birth and separation in prison, and the intergenerational grief of forced adoption — from the scandals of the 1950s and ’60s to today’s imprisoned Palestine Action mothers.
- Exclusive testimony: A rare, unfiltered first-person account by Constance Marten, reflecting on motherhood, justice, and media portrayal as she stands on trial.
- Medical neglect exposed: A major investigation into the systemic failure to treat women with cancer in prison, challenging the illusion of equal healthcare.
- AI and carceral futures: An in-depth look at technology’s role in gender-based violence prevention — and the ethical dangers of algorithm-led justice.
- “The Long View”: A powerful feature drawing parallels between animal testing and the historic abuse of Black women in carceral institutions.
- Sustainability & solidarity: From fashion influencer to farm-based activist, and a grassroots collective transforming discarded festival tents into shelters for unhoused women.
Issue 14 is more than a magazine — it’s a rallying cry for justice, created by and for those too often silenced by mainstream narratives.
Issue 14 is available now: Order here
About The View Magazine
Founded by and for women affected by the criminal justice system, The View is an independent feminist publication that documents injustice, campaigns for systemic change, and centres the lived experiences of marginalised women and survivors. Through print, podcast, and platform, it builds bridges between those inside and outside the prison walls — bringing visibility, dignity, and voice where it’s most urgently needed.
Press Contact: 📧 press@theviewmag.org | 🌐 www.theviewmag.org.uk | 📱 @theviewmag