Portsmouth student who hacked girlfriend’s ear off has "hope" for prison release thanks to Labour government

On March 1 2007, Frederick Semanshia, of Nightingale Road, Portsmouth, snatched his 19-year-old partner from the city and returned to London - where he was from - before carrying out a gruesome and prolonged attack that left her disfigured after she ended the relationship. 

Sick Semanshia, who was 21 at the time, bent the teenager over a bath and sliced off her ear. He then threw her severed organ down an abandoned residence's drain. Semanshia then cut the woman about her face, hands, thighs and the soles of her feet.

After subjecting her to the brutal ordeal, Semanshia forced his terrified victim to accompany him on an extended drive, during which he purchased bandages, before dumping her in Waltham Cross.

Semanshia pleaded guilty at Wood Green Crown Court to grievous bodily harm and false imprisonment in 2007. He was given a life sentence before it was overturned on appeal and told he would serve at least four years and nine months before being considered for bail after he was handed an indefinite term of imprisonment for public protection (IPP) sentence. The ruling means Semanshia will only be freed when the Parole Board is satisfied it is safe to do so.

But now under the new Labour government Semenshia says he has “hope” for the future after the party described IPP sentences as an “injustice”. He has started a petition on Change.org to end the abolished sentences and says he has been boosted by the appointment of new prison minister, James Timpson. 

Semanshia said on Change.org: “Despite serving double my initial five-year sentence, I am still under probation supervision with another decade to go before there's even a possibility of it being revoked. This is not just my story but the reality of many others who are trapped in this system. 

“We believe that those who have served their original tariff should be given clear pathways towards rehabilitation and reintegration into society rather than being subjected to perpetual punishment. We call on our government to scrap the IPP sentence for those already serving it both within prison walls and in our communities.”

Speaking to Change.org in light of the pressure on the new government to end the IPP sentences, Semanshia said: "The allocation of James Timpson as prison minister is very hopeful. I feel like there is change coming. 

“I feel like it’ll be slow progress. as there are so many that are still suffering the injustice of IPP. We need to see change sooner rather than later - not only for the people with IPP sentences in the community, like myself, but those in prison. They need to see the light at the end of the tunnel and the possibility of scrapping the illegal sentence which they were given so many years ago."

Amid concerns about human rights violations associated with indefinite detention without a release date, IPP sentences were abolished in December 2012 by then Secretary of State for Justice Ken Clarke. However, this abolition did not apply retrospectively, leaving thousands of offenders trapped.

The petition has received 450 signatures to date. You can view it at change.org/AbolishIPPSentence.