On 20 September, a brief inquest was held into the death of Abiy Fessfha Abebe, a 35-year-old Ethiopian asylum seeker who was found hanged at Greenbank accommodation centre in Liverpool the day after he was told that his asylum claim had been refused. The coroner found ‘it more likely than not he died by his
Theme: Alternative voices on integration
Bournemouth campaigner protests against arrest and strip search
A Black man, who has been campaigning against Dorset police since being sprayed with CS gas in his own car, and whose story was reported by IRR News in March, says he has been victimised again by police. Femi Ijebuode spent last night camped out in the lobby of Bournemouth police station in protest against
Parents on hunger strike strengthen calls to end child detention
Parents currently being detained in Yarl’s Wood removal centre have begun a hunger strike in a desperate bid to draw attention to the sufferings of their children. The alarming action, which started at breakfast time this morning, is regarded by the parents as being a drastic, but necessary stage in their campaign to give their
28-day detention comes into force
From this week, anyone arrested under anti-terrorist legislation can be detained for up to 28 days before any charges are brought. Under the Terrorism Act 2006, which was passed in March, police powers of detention have been extended to allow for up to 28 days before a charge is brought. The earlier Terrorism Act 2000
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
‘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
Bradford riots
An important new drama by Neil Biswas, to be broadcast on Channel 4 next week, shows how the lives of members of the Pakistani community of Mannigham were defined and destroyed by the Bradford riots of July 2001. The riots were the worst outbreak of street violence on mainland Britain in a generation and involved