Category: Refugees & Asylum
Yarl’s Wood detains too many pregnant women, prisons inspector says
The detention of "too many" pregnant women at Yarl's Wood immigration removal centre has been heavily criticised by the chief inspector of prisons, Nick Hardwick. Hardwick particularly highlighted the case of one pregnant detainee who had endured a four-day journey
Campaigners demand better scrutiny of restraint cases
Children's rights campaigners have called on the government to improve scrutiny of the use of restraint against children in immigration cases after major discrepancies were found in accounts of how often restraint is used when children are deported.
Family of dead deportee Jimmy Mubenga seek ‘justice’
The widow of an Angolan man who died at Heathrow Airport as he was being deported has urged justice to be done quickly, a year after his death. Jimmy Mubenga, 46, fell ill and collapsed on a British Airways plane
Britain is still no refuge for refugees
When the government announced last year that it would end the detention of children for immigration purposes, it felt as if a ray of sunshine had broken into a debate that had become increasingly dark and cruel. I work alongside
Amnesty presents damning report on security firms’ treatment of deportees
Detainees claim they have been strangled, beaten and dropped down aircraft steps while being deported by private security firms, according to a damning report that calls for a "complete and radical overhaul" of the government's removals process. The report, by
Libyan Refugees ‘prepare for the worst’
The European Union is urging member countries to prepare for a possible exodus of refugees from Libya as forces loyal to Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi close in on rebel strongholds. The EU’s humanitarian aid commissioner said Thursday that Europe must
Staff on deportation flights played ‘Russian roulette’ with lives
The Guardian has obtained a training video used by Securicor - now G4S - to instruct guards deporting asylum seekers on flights. The footage forms part of a dossier of evidence produced by G4S whistleblowers Link to this video.
New centres ‘to detain child asylum seekers’ and families
The Coalition is accused of watering down its promise to end the detention of child asylum seekers by setting up new centres to detain families refusing to leave the UK. The new “pre-departure accommodation facilities” will be run under a
Asylum children detention ruled illegal
Forced detention of the children of two failed asylum seeker mothers at Yarl's Wood immigration centre was ruled unlawful by the High Court today. The decision, which opens the way for the affected families to claim damages, comes almost a
Detaining children of failed asylum seekers [is finally] to end
The detention of the children of failed asylum seekers will end by next May, the government has announced.
