On May 28, 24-year-old Azrar Ayub, a patient at the secure Edenfield Unit at Prestwich hospital near Manchester was found dead after being sedated and restrained by staff at the hospital. According to news reports, Azrar, a diagnosed schizophrenic, had been detained at the unit since June 2000. On the day of his death, Azrar
Theme: Violence and harassment
Protests against separation call for Roma children
Nobel Prize-winning writer Günter Grass is among the first 700 signatories to a petition calling for the resignation of Eric Van der Linden, the EU ambassador to Slovakia. A month ago, Van der Linden called for Roma (Gypsy) children to be forcibly separated from their parents during the week and put in boarding schools. Speaking
Photographer witnessed and prevented deportation
Concerns are being raised by UK NGOs about the possible use of excessive force during deportations. A witness to an attempted deportation describes the humiliation and distress she saw. On, 29 April 2004, just two days before ten new states, including Lithuania, joined the EU, British photographer, Jess Hurd, on her way to Lithuania to
The impact of the Asylum Bill
A leading immigration barrister spoke at a recent meeting of the Law Centres’ Federation on the likely impact of the Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants, etc) Bill. “The steady stream of Asylum Acts continues: 1993, 1996, 1999, 2002 and soon, 2004. The Asylum Bill, likely to become law within weeks, is set to drive
Rally round the flag
In calling for ‘integration’, Trevor Phillips has taken Britain a step closer to the assimilation policies sweeping Europe. Across Europe, hysteria has gripped the political classes. The questions of what to do about desperate immigrants and angry Muslims have coalesced into ‘the integration debate’. In France, the official answer is forced assimilation, symbolised by the
Justice for Andrew Jordan
On 7 October 2003, Andrew Jordan, a 27-year-old Black man, died after up to nine police officers entered his flat in Erith, south London. The Police Complaints Authority has told Andrew’s family that he was punched three times by one of the officers. Andrew was a physically fit, tall, well-built young man, who was suffering
Report on grant-making will affect community groups
A Review by the House of Commons Committee of Public Accounts of grants made to the National Coalition of Anti-Deportation Campaigns (NCADC) by the Community Fund is likely to affect a number of voluntary groups in the future. The Review was set up after a second grant of £336,000 (following one of £191,000 in 1998)
New study critical of funding for black voluntary groups
A research project on the BME voluntary sector by the 1990 Trust, supported by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, has revealed that a significant gulf exists between funders and recipients. The report ‘Black voluntary and community sector funding: Its impact on civic engagement and capacity building‘ by Karen Chouhan and Clarence Lusane, has found that: Small
Call for greater ethnic minority and immigrant participation in Irish politics
A new report from the Africa Solidarity Centre in Dublin highlights the exclusion of immigrants and ethnic minorities from Irish political parties. Based on research conducted by Dr. Bryan Fanning of University College, Dublin, Fidèle Mutwarasibo and Neltah Chadamoyo, the report published this week reveals that none of the political parties in Ireland have any
Concern at new asylum measures
Refugee groups and lawyers believe that the new Asylum Bill will result in profound changes in the legal and constitutional landscape of Britain as well as stripping asylum seekers of further legal and social rights. The Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants, etc.) Bill is the fifth asylum Bill in eleven years and Labour’s third