Joint Enterprise on Trial

📢 Joint Enterprise on Trial

APPEAL’s Racial Justice Lead, Dr Nisha Waller, and Racial Justice Researcher, Tehreem Sultan, will be launching their report:
Joint Enterprise on Trial on 26 June 2025.

A rare, inside look at how joint enterprise is being used in serious criminal trials at London’s Old Bailey. Based on a six-month court watch, the event will bring together legal experts, campaigners, artists and individuals directly impacted by joint enterprise laws to examine how these laws are disproportionately used against young Black men, and how we can challenge them.

🎟️ Sign up here:
👉 https://www.eventbrite.com/e/joint-enterprise-on-trial-tickets-1348385219489?aff=oddtdtcreator

Speaker Details:

Dr Nisha Waller 

Nisha leads APPEAL’s racial justice work, challenging discriminatory practices in the criminal legal system through research and advocacy. Nisha recently completed her PhD at the University of Oxford, where her research investigated racialised processes of prosecution in the context of ‘joint enterprise’, with a particular focus on the experiences of young Black men. Her expertise lies in the intersection of race and the criminal legal system in England and Wales, particularly in joint enterprise prosecutions. Her work has been motivated by personal experience, having been closely connected to someone convicted under joint enterprise.

Tehreem Sultan

Tehreem is APPEAL’s Racial Justice Researcher, working on racial justice work to raise awareness of and challenge discriminatory practices in the criminal justice system. She was called to the Bar of England and Wales in October 2023. Tehreem completed her LL.M. at Harvard Law School specialising in criminal and international human rights law. Tehreem previously worked at the International Criminal Court on a number of state investigations. Her work is motivated by her experience of the justice system in different jurisdictions including the Middle East and South Asia.

Andrea Coomber KC (Hon.)

Andrea Coomber KC (Hon.) is the Chief Executive of the Howard League for Penal Reform. Andrea is qualified as a barrister and solicitor in Western Australia. Prior to joining the Howard League in 2021, Andrea was the Director of JUSTICE for seven years. Before that, she spent a decade litigating international human rights cases at INTERIGHTS, having earlier worked at the International Service for Human Rights in Geneva and the South Asia Documentation Centre in New Delhi. Andrea was appointed Queen’s Council (Honoris Causa) in 2022. Since 2019, she has served as a Lay Member of the House of Lords Conduct Committee.

Dr Patrick Williams

Dr Patrick Williams is an independent researcher and scholar working in-service to community groups, movements and organisations who are resisting the harms of the Criminal Legal Systems of England and Wales and Europe. Focusing on ‘modalities of injustice’ and ‘processes of criminalisation’, he is co-author of many reports and papers documenting the pains of joint enterprise and collective punishments, including the oft-cited ‘Dangerous Associations: Joint Enterprise, Gangs and Racism’ and ‘Data-driven Policing: the hardwiring of discriminatory policing practices across Europe’. Patrick has assisted the court as an expert-witness in significant JE/conspiracy cases involving racially minoritised children and young people.

Yusuf Solley

Yusuf Solley is a barrister at Furnival Chambers. He is generally instructed in matters of a serious nature, including joint participation cases of murder and attempted murder. He also has experience of defending young people with neurodivergences, including ASD. He sits as a barrister member of BTAS, the bar disciplinary tribunals, and as a Commissioner on the Westminster Commission on Joint Enterprise.

Pearls Loren Wisdom

Pearls Loren Wisdom is the founder and Director of SAY NO! To Joint Enterprise UK C.I.C. an organisation dedicated to advocating for individuals and families navigating the complexities of the justice system, particularly concerning Joint Enterprise. Her commitment stems from her personal experience, after the arrest and charge of her 16-year-old son for a murder he did not commit. In November 2023, she established a WhatsApp group comprised of 10 mothers, whose children are incarcerated under Joint Enterprise Doctrine, recognising their need for focused support, particularly for the disproportionately affected demographic that are 16 times more likely to be charged and convicted under Joint Enterprise.

Cleeshay

Cleeshay is an emerging artist whose music serves as a powerful testament to resilience in the face of injustice. Having spent twelve years in prison for a crime he did not commit, Cleeshay draws from personal experiences to create music that conveys profound pain and explores themes of social injustice.