Black men are four times more likely than White men to be on the national DNA database and there is growing concern about racial profiling in criminal investigations. The police national DNA database (NDNAD), launched in 1995, now contains almost three million profiles. The prospect of everyone providing a DNA profile for the database is
Asylum death deemed misadventure
A jury has returned a verdict of death by misadventure following a three-day inquest into the death of Nariman Tahmasebi, a 27-year-old Iranian asylum seeker who was found hanged in Lewes prison in February 2002. Nariman Tahmasebi fled to the UK following a period of detention in Iran for his political beliefs. Refused asylum in
No duty to save immigrant lives, rules House of Lords
On Thursday 5 May, as voters went to the polls in a general election dominated by immigration and asylum, the House of Lords issued a judgment which effectively condemns hundreds of immigrants to a premature and painful death, according to human rights lawyers. Five Law Lords, sitting as the highest appeal court in the land,
Cameroonian journalist fears torture and jail if deported
A Cameroonian journalist says the BBC did not fully support him after his work for the World Service forced him to claim asylum. Thomas Nguanyi, a prize-winning journalist with the BBC World Service and a founding member of the Cameroon Association of Commonwealth Journalists, was hospitalised in early April after collapsing in detention at Harwich
National declaration against deportations of school students launched
Campaigners are calling for teachers, students and others in education to support a national declaration against the deportation of children and young people in schools and colleges. The last year has seen a wave of spontaneous protests by school students against deportations. At Mayfield school, Portsmouth, students led a campaign in support of Lorin Sulaiman,
15-year-old Daniel launches anti-deportation campaign
Daniel Sukula wrote to IRR News earlier this year to tell us of his fears of being deported to Congo. Now he asks readers to support his anti-deportation campaign. ‘My name is Daniel and I am 15 years old’, begins his letter. ‘I am writing this because me and my family face deportation to Congo.
Inquest finds asylum refusal was motive for gay Iranian’s suicide
This week, an inquest recorded a verdict of suicide into the death of an Iranian asylum seeker, 26-year-old Hussein Nasseri, who was found with a gunshot wound two weeks after his asylum claim was refused. Hussein, who was homosexual, fled Iran in March 2000 after being imprisoned for three months for his sexuality and sought
Asylum seekers needlessly made destitute
The Refugee Survival Trust (RST)’s report What’s going on? examines the causes of destitution among asylum seekers, the circumstances which surround destitution and concludes that the National Asylum Support Service (NASS) is failing those seeking protection in the UK. ‘What’s going on?’ is a study into the destitution and poverty faced by asylum seekers in
Health treatment becomes a political football
In the run-up to the election, immigration is already one of the main topics and part of the debate involves the NHS being abused by so-called ‘treatment tourists’. In an attempt to tackle this supposed threat, the government has been restricting the availability of free HIV treatment to asylum seekers and other migrants. In February
Election deportation targets put lives at risk
In the run-up to the election, the Conservative Party is proposing to remove all asylum seekers who exceed an annual quota of 20,000, whether or not their claims are valid. The Labour government has already set a target to deport more people each month than make new claims for asylum that go on to be