Liberty, the civil and human rights organisation, has started legal proceedings on behalf of three detainees held at Harmondsworth removal centre in west London, who alleged that they were mistreated in the aftermath of a disturbance at the centre in November 2006. Liberty’s request for a public inquiry into the disturbance was refused in June
Theme: Health
Remembering Babak Ahadi
Last week, the Iranian Refugee Association in Birmingham held a picket in memory of Babak Ahadi, who took his life in July 2005 after his asylum claim was dismissed by the Immigration and Asylum Tribunal (IAT) in Sheldon, Birmingham. Babak, 33, died in Frenchay hospital the day after he set himself alight at his NASS
Detention archipelago: jailing immigrants for profit
The US experience of detaining asylum seekers and migrants in centres operated by private companies has many parallels with what is happening in the UK. Below we reproduce an article that appeared in the May/June issue of the journal NACLA – Report on the Americas, on the private companies involved in the detention of asylum
New publication criticises the detention of migrant families
A new publication from the charity Bail for Immigration Detainees (BID) criticises the UK government’s policy of detaining migrant families and examines the negative impacts it has on children. ‘Obstacles to accountability: challenging the immigration detention of families’ is based on BID’s experience of providing free advice and assistance to families with children in detention
Landmark fight against police racism in Norway
The campaign for a full, independent inquiry into the death in police custody of a 48-year-old Nigerian man last autumn is proving a watershed in the fight against institutionalised racism in Norway. On 7 September 2006, Eugene Ejike Obiora had much to look forward to. It was his son’s twelfth birthday and he wanted to
Medical Justice launch party
The fun was definitely put into fundraising at the launch party of campaigning charity Medical Justice at London nightclub Cargo on 3 July. Featuring a musical line-up good enough to coax even the most uncharitable of folk out on a school night, Cargo’s bare brick arches were filled with hundreds of people dancing to a
Scotland rallies against terrorism
Following a spate of racial violence against Muslims in Scotland in response to the attack on Glasgow airport, various Muslim community groups are organising a ‘Scotland United Against Terror’ rally in Glasgow’s George Square this weekend. The week following the attack on Glasgow airport has seen a number of violent incidents taking place against Muslims
Black history project launched
The Institute of Race Relations has been awarded a grant of £49,800 from the Heritage Lottery Fund to create an educational Black History Collection. The grant has been made to allow the IRR, which has been collecting materials created by Black organisations and/or on Black struggles since the 1950s, to form these into a coherent
Churches tackle migration issues
The Churches’ Commission for Racial Justice has published Migration Principles, a booklet aimed at churches working with migrants and engaging with migration issues in order to guide their practical responses and to contribute to the national debate. Put together by an inter-denominational study group convened by Churches Together in Britain and Ireland and edited by
Black Experience Archive Trust launch
An inspiring new project has brought activists and Black schoolchildren in North London together to create an innovative digital community history archive. West Green BEAT (Black Experience Archive Trust) is a collaboration between activist film-makers Migrant Media, Parkview Academy and the West Green Learning Centre in Tottenham and the London Metropolitan Archives. More than forty