A gang of twelve men launched an unprovoked attack in broad daylight on three Iraqi Kurdish asylum seekers in Plymouth on Monday 20 January 2003. The attackers were reportedly in their twenties and thirties and inflicted facial and other injuries on their victims. To date, there have been no arrests. On average, one racially motivated
Theme: Education
Private security firms suggest new removals regime
Group 4 Falck, Britain’s biggest immigration detention company, today called for the right to report ‘disruptive’ detainees to the immigration authorities so that asylum seekers’ behaviour in detention be taken into account when decisions on refugee status are made. At the House of Commons, members of the Home Affairs Committee on Removals questioned representatives from
Anti-asylum hysteria carries BNP to fifth council seat
The British National Party (BNP) won another council seat yesterday, gaining 679 votes in the Mixenden ward of Halifax, West Yorkshire. The far-Right party managed to gain 29 per cent of the votes cast. Their candidate, Adrian Marsden, 42, overturned the Labour majority in an election which had a turnout of 37 per cent –
Now asylum seekers blamed for dwindling fish stocks
In a bid to win the anglers’ vote, the British National Party has drawn attention to the declining numbers of carp and roach in the River Lea, Hertfordshire. In a surprise move, asylum seekers and refugees have been singled out for blame. According to the January issue of the BNP newspaper, Voice of Freedom, illegal
Iranian asylum seeker under death threat wins reprieve
An Iranian deportee, who has been on hunger strike at Campsfield Detention Centre, was thrown a last-minute lifeline after his application for judicial review was accepted. Today, he has been given bail and will return to his home in Warrington. But just one week ago, until lawyers succeeded in delaying his deportation, he was due
Nation-wide protests against asylum destitution
Refugee and homelessness organisations have united to protest against new measures in the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act which are set to throw tens of thousands of asylum seekers on to the streets. It is estimated that from 8 January 2003, when the new powers to withhold support apply, every day will see a further
Analysis: Deaths during forced deportation
Case details of nine deaths during forced deportations in Switzerland, Germany, Belgium, Hungary, France, Austria and the United Kingdom. The right to life, and the right to dignity – not to be subjected to inhuman or degrading treatment, are recognised as the most fundamental of all human rights. As such, they are at the heart
Asylum: the end of the road
As new immigration laws come into force, human rights and immigration barrister, Frances Webber, gives her view on recent developments. Within days of the 2002 Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act coming into force on 7 November, and even before it was published, the first Czech and Slovak Roma were being bundled out of the country
EU to make all refugees temporary?
The Council of the European Union is discussing the definition of ‘refugee/subsidiary protection’ and could put the status of all future refugees under permanent review. Secret discussions among ministers and civil servants in the Council of the European Union (the 15 EU governments) about the Directive proposed by the European Commission on the definition of
The contours of global racism
The following is the closing speech delivered by Dr A Sivanandan at the conference, Crossing Borders: the legacy of the Commonwealth Immigrants Act 1962, organised by Runnymede, JCWI, UKREN, 1990 Trust, London European Research Centre and the London Metropolitan University on 15/16 November 2002. Racism never stands still. It changes shape, size, contours, purpose, function,