Sri Lankans who apply for a visa to come to the UK are to be fingerprinted in a six-month pilot scheme. If successful, similar measures will be deployed for other countries. The scheme is due to begin on 14 July, after which all applicants for a visa at the British High Commission in Colombo will
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Oldham: Asian boy left unconscious after racist attack
A 16-year-old boy was left with a fractured skull after being attacked and racially abused by a group of teenagers in Chadderton this week. The Asian teenager was smashed on the head with a blunt object and knocked unconscious after being chased along Garforth Street by a gang of youths on Saturday. He received treatment
Home Office puts misleading spin on own report
The Home Office, this week, tried to present its new research on asylum-seeking in Europe as evidence that its policies were working. But what the research actually says is that attempts to deter asylum seekers through hardline measures are unlikely to be effective. Earlier this year, Tony Blair set a target of halving the number
Campaigners against Terror Act call for support
The Campaign Against Criminalising Communities, which has been monitoring the effect of the 2001 Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Act on migrant and refugee communities, is calling for opponents of the Act to sign a statement against the legislation. The group is also preparing a submission to the Committee of Privy Counsellors which is reviewing the
Palestinian refugee appeals anti-terrorist detention
On 23 June, Palestinian refugee Mahmoud Abu Rideh appeared at the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC) to appeal against his continued detention without trial under the Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001. 32-year-old Mahmoud was arrested in December 2001 soon after new ‘anti-terror’ legislation came into force in the UK, as a result of the
Afghanistan’s never-ending tragedy
Despite the escalating violence and devastation in Afghanistan, European governments aim to forcibly repatriate Afghan asylum seekers. Instead, they should concentrate on the reconstruction of the country, and keeping pledges made to the Afghan people. Tackling refugee issues by introducing tough measures is the preferred approach of the immigration authorities in Europe. Unfortunately they fail
Nine months for white racist thugs who sparked the Oldham riots
A mob of football hooligans and neo-Nazis who terrorised the Asian community of Glodwick, Oldham, in May 2001, were cheered as ‘heroes’ by their supporters in the gallery of a Manchester court this week, as they heard that they had been sentenced to just nine months imprisonment. Following the sentencing of the so-called ‘Oldham 12’
No deportations to Iraq
‘Iraq unsafe, Kurdistan unsafe!’, were the words shouted by Iraqi and Kurdish protestors in front of the Home Office yesterday. Around fifty refugees gathered in front of the Home Office to protest against the government’s decision to repatriate asylum seekers to Iraq, a country that it deems now to be safe. The Home Office has
Denial of visitor visas for families
Ethnic minority communities in the UK face clampdown on visits from members of their family living abroad. Six national organisations – Citizens Advice, the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants, the Immigration Law Practitioners’ Association, the Law Society, the Immigration Advisory Service and the Legal Action Group – have written to the home and
Deepcut widow faces deportation
The widow of a black soldier from Deepcut army barracks, who was shot in suspicious circumstances last year, now faces deportation to Jamaica. Last Boxing Day, Mario O’Brien Clarke was shot dead in Hackney while he was off duty. The army maintains that his death is not connected to the other four suspicious deaths of