Inmate going back to medium-security prison after appealing move to max security site

Nova Scotia's Springhill Institution is seen in this undated file photo.

An inmate serving a life sentence for first-degree murder is going back to a medium-security prison after he successfully appealed his involuntary move to a maximum-security site earlier this year.

Justice John Keith, in a written decision, said Ishmail Conteh, 32, was moved from the Springhill, N.S., medium-security facility to a maximum-security facility last January and filed an application for habeas corpus. Keith granted the application.

“His transfer to a maximum-security correctional facility constituted an unlawful deprivation of his residual liberty,” the decision reads. “The reasons are chiefly grounded in concerns around procedural fairness.

“In the unique circumstances of this case, a rippling effect arises out of these procedural problems such that it would be unsafe to uphold the reclassification decision and implicitly accept (or, worse, condone or promote) the manner in which the Attorney General presented sealed, confidential information in the circumstances of this case.”

According to the decision, Conteh, from Sierra Leone, started serving a life sentence for violent offences – including murder – in 2010. Despite evidence suggesting he struggles to comply with the rules of the prison community, he was reclassified as a medium-security risk and transferred to Springhill in February 2025.

Last January, Conteh was reclassified as a maximum-security offender and involuntarily transferred to a facility in Renous, N.B.

The decision said a notice of intended transfer claimed Conteh was “no longer considered manageable in a medium- security environment” due to ongoing misconduct.

“Mr. Conteh strongly disagreed with the information regarding his conduct,” the decision reads. “He stated that he may have been charged with various offences but was never actually found guilty of those charges; he was respectful towards staff and other inmates; and, where appropriate, he took responsibility for his involvement in any conflict.

“He also stated that his mental health was being adversely affected by the reclassification and transfer.”

At the hearing for the habeas corpus application, Justice Keith noted that a confidential source had recanted their allegations against Conteh. Counsel for Correctional Service Canada (CSC) argued the recantation only related to a small number of allegations made against Conteh.

“CSC argued that the allegation in question was a distinct and separate event which was not connected with the core concerns that led to the ultimate decision, rather it contended that the reclassification decision rested on a separate ‘cluster of confidential intelligence in December 2025 and early January 2026 from multiple sources,’” the written decision reads.

Justice Keith said the recantation was “serious, relevant, and material.”

“CSC knew that the confidential informant had withdrawn the allegations in question several weeks before the habeas corpus hearing began on March 17, 2026,” the decision reads. “Despite knowing that certain allegations had been withdrawn, CSC did not disclose the existence of the recantation to the Court or Mr. Conteh until midway through the habeas corpus hearing.

“There can be no doubt that the withdrawal of the allegations cast doubt as to the reliability or veracity of the allegation. And I accept that the security intelligence officers may make their own internal assessment as to the reliability of the recantation. However, respectfully, the Court was entitled to know about the recantation prior to the hearing, not mid-way through the hearing.

“Reclassifying a prisoner’s security risk to maximum-security and involuntarily transferring that prisoner to a maximum-security facility is not small matter.”

Justice Keith quashed the reclassification, which means Conteh will be returned to a medium-security facility.

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