A new report from Amnesty International explains why diplomatic assurances against torture are worthless. When, in December 2001, parliament approved the indefinite detention of ‘suspected international terrorists’ in the Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Act, it was persuaded by the then home secretary’s argument that the men could not be deported since the regimes from which
Theme: Education
Migrant Voice election special
The second edition of a new newspaper, highlighting the voices of migrants, is an election special. The latest edition of Migrant Voice is a 2010 election special. It includes pieces on migrant workers and the need for greater employment protection, the detrimental impacts of the new points based system for international students, the impact on
Ombudsman slates performance of Border Agency
The Parliamentary Ombudsman has found massive, agonising delays, a doubling of complaints and a catalogue of errors in case management at the UK Border Agency. In February 2010, the Parliamentary Ombudsman, Ann Abraham, published her fourth report on the UK Border Agency (UKBA), Fast and fair? . The Ombudsman’s remit is to investigate ‘injustice caused
Why do they call me a criminal?
Below we reproduce an article by Stuart Crosthwaite of South Yorkshire Migration and Asylum Action Group (SYMAAG). Long-standing supporters of SYMAAG and active members of the group will know something about Delshad Zorab from Doncaster/Iraqi Kurdistan. In October 2007, he marched to Lindholme detention centre to demonstrate for ‘Dignity Not Detention’. Last February he was
Border Agency criticised for treatment of children
A new report reveals that the UK Border Agency’s (UKBA) interviews show ‘scant regard’ for the welfare of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children. The report, entitled Safe at last? Children on the front line of border control, published by Refugee and Migrant Justice (RMJ), finds that children arriving in Dover, often suffering from illness or injuries, are
Welcome ruling on detained Iraqi Kurds
A ruling in February that the continuing detention of one of the thirty-four Iraqi Kurds deported to Baghdad and refused admission to Iraq was unlawful, should benefit others held for deportation for years with no prospect of speedy return. In October 2009, a charter flight left the UK with forty-four Iraqi deportees on board, bound
Concerns about abuse by UKBA contractors vindicated
Baroness O’Loan’s report to the UK Border Agency uncovers casual brutality and callous neglect in detention centres. O’Loan’s report in March 2010 was commissioned following allegations of systemic abuse of detainees by detention centre and immigration escort staff made in the 2008 report, Outsourcing Abuse by Medical Justice, National Coalition of Anti-Deportation Campaigns and solicitors
Protests follow deaths in Glasgow
Campaigners are calling for a public inquiry following the deaths of three asylum seekers at the weekend in Glasgow. On Sunday morning, 7 March 2010, the bodies of three Russian asylum seekers were found below a block of flats in Glasgow, all three apparently having taken their own lives by jumping from the fifteenth floor.
£280,000 raised for families of Morecambe Bay victims
The Morecambe Bay Victims Fund recently celebrated the success of its sponsored walk, which raised £280,000 for families of the Morecambe Bay victims. The sixty-mile walk, which took the group from Liverpool to Morecambe Bay over the course of two days in February, was organised by Sir David Tang and his family. Other walkers included
Peaceful hunger strikers speak of mistreatment
Four women, who were taking part in a peaceful hunger strike against the conditions of their immigration detention, have been moved to prison following scenes of alleged chaos and mistreatment. Aminata Camara, from Guinea, Gladys Obiyan, from Nigeria, and Sheree Wilson and Shellyann Stupart, both from Jamaica, were moved from Yarl’s Wood immigration removal centre