A new project has been established in Leeds in memory of Manuel Bravo, an Angolan asylum seeker, who was found hanged in Yarl’s Wood removal centre on 15 September 2005, where he was detained with his 13-year-old son pending deportation. Before his death, Manuel had settled in Leeds and regularly attended church with his family.
18-month sentence for manslaughter of Pakistani man
Last week, a 17-year-old youth, Mardell Pennant, was sentenced to 18 months’ detention and training order in a young offenders’ institute after pleading guilty to the manslaughter of Kamal Raza Butt in a joint enterprise with another youth, against whom charges were dropped. The murder of the Pakistani man, in July 2005, took place just
Until you fight, change never happens
In a church in Piccadilly last week, a small group of families and friends of those who have died in police custody gathered at a press conference, supported by the Bishop of Southwark, to speak about their experiences and to launch a new leaflet for the United Families and Friends Campaign. The United Families and
Racial profiling and shoot to kill
The latest briefing paper, on shoot to kill policies against suspected suicide bomber in the US and UK, will add to the reputation of the Center for Human Rights and Global Justice (CHRGJ) at New York University School of Law for cutting-edge advocacy and scholarship and path-breaking reports on the legal violations that have arisen
The emergence of a European security-industrial complex
The EU is set to spend billions of euros on ‘security research’. With little accountability, European multinational corporations will be researching new techniques of surveillance, identification and profiling, to be directed mainly at migrants and terrorist suspects. A new report by Statetwatch and the Transnational Institute makes depressing reading for those concerned with issues of
Anger at overseas doctors’ permit requirement
New regulations affecting International Medical Graduates (IMGs) have been criticised by leading members of the medical profession and immigration practitioners. The NHS has developed and utilised the skills of IMGs, essentially Black doctors from Third World countries, since its inception in 1948. The arrangement between IMGs and the health service has traditionally been seen as
How the BNP entered the political mainstream
Recently published research gives us more data on where support for the British National Party comes from. But, in common with most analysts, it downplays the most important factor in the BNP’s rise: the legitimacy given to the party’s views by mainstream politicians and even liberal commentators. In 1993, Derek Beackon became the BNP’s first
‘No Place for a Child’: a campaign to free children in detention
A major campaign is underway to generate public and parliamentary support to free the 2,000 children detained in the UK each year for immigration purposes. The campaign, entitled ‘No Place for a Child: Stop Detaining Children Now!’, was set up by a coalition of organisations including Save the Children UK, Bail for Immigration Detainees, the
IRR gifts its library to Warwick University
A. Sivanandan, in a speech at the launch of the Institute of Race Relations’ library at Warwick University on 27 April 2006, explains how the collection (1956-2005) reflected the movements of the times – decolonisation, Black Power and globalisation. I am honoured that Warwick University should name the Institute’s library after me. And I thank
Criminalising dissent in the ‘war on terror’
The new crime of ‘glorifying’ terrorism, recently introduced under the Terrorism Act 2006, will lead to the suppression of legitimate debate on the causes of terror. Since 13 April 2006, it has been a criminal offence to directly or indirectly encourage terrorism; those convicted face up to seven years imprisonment. ‘Direct encouragement’ is largely the