THE MANCHESTER 10: JAILED OVER A GROUP CHAT

• July 2022: Ten young people of colour from Manchester were sentenced to 8 - 21 years in prison after being found guilty (as a group) of conspiracy to murder or conspiracy to commit grievous bodily harm.
• They were all 18 years old or under at the time of their arrest and were grieving following the murder of one of their friends.
• The police and prosecution relied on racist gang narratives, identifying the boys as ‘a gang’, using their similar taste in drill music and participation in a group Telegram chat as evidence. 
• December 2024/January 2025: Seven of the boys had their appeals heard at the Royal Courts of Justice. One of the boys was successful in his appeal and has been acquitted. Three other boys have had their sentences reduced - two have been released and the third will be released this year. The remaining three boys remain in prison. The campaign for justice continues.

FIND OUT MORE BY FOLLOWING THESE LINKS, AND TAKE THE SUGGESTED ACTIONS!

Find out more about the Manchester 10:

• Watch the Channel 4 UNTOLD documentary:

https://www.channel4.com/programmes/jailed-over-a-group-chat-untold

• Read Roxy Legane’s (Director, Kids of Colour) article in Red Pepper:

https://www.redpepper.org.uk/society/race-racism/the-manchester-ten/

• Read the article published in the Guardian in July 2022, following sentencing of the Manchester 10:

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/jul/01/fury-in-manchester-as-black-teenagers-jailed-as-result-of-telegram-chat

• Watch & listen to the rap commissioned by channel 4 News, created by Drill Minister from MPs’ quotes:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=spJoRLpDLLM

• Read the write-up by Garden Court Chambers of Leave to Appeal hearing July 2024:

https://gardencourtchambers.co.uk/the-manchester-10-where-a-racialised-gang-narrative-led-to-unsafe-convictions/

• Read the Guardian interview with Ade Adedeji published in May 2025 following his acquittal and release.

https://www.theguardian.com/law/2025/may/01/ade-adedeji-manchester-release-conviction-quashed-drill-music-video?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

PLEASE TAKE ACTION TO SUPPORT THE MANCHESTER 10:

• Talk about it!  Tell your family, friends, colleagues, church members, team mates about the Manchester 10 so that more people know about the on-going racism and injustice that the boys are experiencing in the UK’s Criminal Justice System.

• Sign the Art Not Evidence petition to stop music being used as evidence in court:  https://artnotevidence.org/

• Support Kids of Colour, the Manchester anti-racist youth work organisation supporting the Manchester 10 & their families. https://kidsofcolour.com/