Downing Street Protest in Support of LGBT Asylum Seekers

Friday 27th September Assemble 4:30 pm

Opposite 10 Downing Street
London, SW1A 2AA

A protest designed to raise awareness of the plight of LGBT and hetrosexual asylum seekers will take place opposite Downing Street on Friday from 4.30pm, campaigners have announced.

The African LGBTI Out & Proud Diamond Group and the Peter Tatchell Foundation say individuals are still being deported back to countries where they face homophobic and transphobic persecution – and in some cases – they are also being subjected to physical and sexual abuse in UK detention centres.

Campaigners are calling on the government to investigate allegations of abuse against female detainees carried out by staff at Yarl's Wood detention centre in Bedfordshire.

Edwin Sesange, co-ordinator of the African LGBTI Out & Proud Diamond Group said: "We strongly condemn the sexual abuse of vulnerable refugees. The Home Office has ultimate responsibility for these abuses. They happened in asylum detention centres under Home Office control. We are calling on the Prime Minister to condemn the abuses, reform the detention centre system, initiate a public inquiry and press police and prosecutors to bring charges against abusers."

He added: "Human rights should be universal, no matter what the immigration status of the individual. The UK is a signatory to the Refugee Convention and the European Convention on Human Rights, both of which protect asylum seekers."

In February, a gay asylum seeker from Cameroon claimed he was assaulted by private security at Heathrow Airport.

Mr Betondi suffered serious injuries to his eye and face – but Home Office officials said they were self-inflicted after he headbutted a seat on the plane.

The African LGBTI Out & Proud Diamond Group and the Peter Tatchell Foundation are urging the following:

1. A judge-led public inquiry into the problems and abuses faced asylum seekers and immigrants – and the government's agreement to implement the inquiry recommendations.

2. Full confidentiality and protection for all victims and witnesses.

3. The prosecution of those who have been involved in sex abuse and violence against asylum applicants.

4. Reform of the asylum detention centre system, to limit detainees to those who are a threat to the public. Better training and supervision of staff. More rights and means of redress for detainees.

S Chelvan, one of the country's leading barristers specialising in asylum law and immigration told PinkNews.co.uk in August that at its worst the asylum system can appear indifferent to the plight of those fleeing homophobic and transphobic persecution.
<> Scott Roberts Pink News, 25 September 2013

Moses Mazomba from Glasgow - Still Here - Still Fighting
He is now back in Colnbrook detention centre next to Heathrow airport. He was the last passenger put on the plane last Thursday 19th September, with four or five security guard escorts just before the plane was due to take off. On the plane Moses refused to co-operate and after three or four minutes of struggling with his guards the pilot ordered his removal from the plane as it was disrupting the flight. Moses seems to be fine apart from a sore throat from his shouting and a sore arm and back.

We are now mounting a campaign to get Moses moved back to Dungavel so he is closer to friends and family here in Glasgow.

Many thanks to all who responded to the alert:
Unity Centre Glasgow / info@unitycentreglasgow.org

Asylum Research Consultancy (ARC) COI Update Volume 63
This document provides an update of Country Guidance case law and UKBA publications and developments in refugee producing countries between 5th and 22nd September 2013  - Volume 63  <>here . . . .

Garden Court Chambers - Immigration Law Bulletin - Issue 341

Habitual Residence Test
We continue to believe that individuals should in principle have a strong connection to the UK in order to benefit from the civil legal aid scheme and that the residence test we have proposed is a fair and appropriate way to demonstrate that connection.

We are therefore proceeding with our proposal that applicants for civil legal aid will need to be lawfully resident in the UK, Crown Dependencies or British Overseas Territories at the time they apply and have resided there lawfully for at least 12 months in the past. The test will not apply to serving members of Her Majesty's Armed Forces and their immediate families, or to asylum seekers.

We will also provide that applicants for civil legal aid on certain matters of law will not be required to meet the residence test. These broadly relate to the individual's liberty, such as challenges to the lawfulness of detention, where the individual is particularly vulnerable or where the case relates to the protection of children.

Anybody excluded from civil legal aid as a result of the residence test in the future would be entitled to apply for exceptional funding, including in respect of services described in Part 1 of Schedule 1 of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 from which the individual has been excluded as a result of the residence test.
House of Lords / 23rd September 2013

FOI 28704 You have asked the following:

"Where a healthcare professional has assessed someone as medically unfit to be detained, under Rule 35(1).

What is the process whereby release may be refused? Is the person assessed by another healthcare professional acting for UKBA?"

I would like to emphasise that a Rule 35(1) report does not necessarily equate to a doctor declaring someone unfit to be detained. Rule 35(1) requires medical practitioners working in Immigration Removal Centres to report to the centre manager about the case of any detained person where they have concerns that the detainee's health is likely to be injuriously affected by continued detention, or by any conditions of detention. This allows the appropriateness of the individual's continued detention to be reviewed.

Rule 35(1) reports must be forwarded by the Home Office Immigration Enforcement contact management team in the centre in question, to the Home Office case worker responsible for the case for their consideration. The decision about the appropriateness of the individual's continued detention rests with the relevant case worker, taking account of all factors in the case. It does not follow, therefore, that submission of a report under Rule 35(1) will automatically result in a detainee being released.

Following receipt of a Rule 35(1) report, case workers have two working days to consider its contents and provide their response. The response must, amongst other things, engage with the particular concerns raised by the medical practitioner in the report and set out the reasoning behind their decision, regardless of whether they decide to maintain the individual's detention or release them.

There is no requirement for a second medical practitioner to provide an opinion before a Rule 35(1) report is submitted.

The number of Rule 35 (1) Reports in Q2/April/May/June 2013.

Number of Detainees Related To Rule 35 (1) Reports.

Number of Detainees Released Following Rule 35 (1) Reports.

Q2 2013

Rule 35 (1) reports in Q2 (April/May/June) 2013 9

Detainees related to Rule 35 (1) reports 9

Of which: Detainees released following Rule 35 reports 3

Pakistan: Attack on Christian Church Leaves 78 Dead

Pakistan's embattled Christian community suffered the most deadly attack in its history on Sunday when a pair of Taliban suicide bombers blew themselves up inside a church in the troubled city of Peshawar, killing 78 and wounding 141.

The midday attack on the historic church was one of the most lethal aimed at civilians in Peshawar, a city that has been repeatedly struck by militant groups who control swaths of the nearby tribal areas.

Explosions ripped through the congregation of 500 people, including many women and children, as the service at All Saints church was coming to an end and worshippers were about to receive a free meal of rice in the courtyard outside.

Witnesses said the interior of the 130-year-old building was turned into a bloodbath, with severed limbs scattered around and the walls pockmarked with ball bearings used as shrapnel by the bombers. Pakistan:
Read more: Guradian.uk, <>22/09/13

Forced Migration: Alternatives to Detention, and Deportation'
Asylum seekers and refugees – men, women and even children – are increasingly detained and interned around the world, as are numbers of other migrants. Sometimes detained indefinitely and often in appalling conditions, they may suffer not only deprivation of their liberty but other abuses of their human rights too. Detention may appear to be a convenient solution to states' political quest to manage migration (often as a precursor to deportation) but it is an expensive option and has lasting effects on those detained. In the search for a more humane – and cheaper – approach, agencies and government authorities have trialled a variety of alternatives to detention. FMR 44 includes 36 articles on immigration detention, alternatives to detention, and deportation, plus a mini-feature on the Syria crisis and a selection of other articles.
See more at: http://www.fmreview.org/detention#sthash.NDymyG0l.dpuf

Boko Haram Attack Kills 87 In North-East Nigeria
According to the BBC, witnesses said the Islamist fighters - who demand the rule of Sharia law - wore military uniforms and set up checkpoints outside the town of Benisheik on Tuesday and shot dead anyone trying to flee. A security source quoted by AFP said the heavily armed militants drove to the town in about 20 pick-up trucks, some with anti-aircraft guns.

A military crackdown on the group ordered by President Goodluck Jonathan in mid-May had appeared to have weakened the sect, which has troubled Nigeria - Africa's most populous nation and biggest energy producer - since its appearance four years ago.

More than 160 people were killed in violence linked to Boko Haram last month, including 24 vigilantes ambushed and killed near the remote town of Monguono. A new army division was sent to Borno last month. The sect has several factions and an ill-defined leadership structure, which has hobbled efforts to strike a peace deal.
Read more: James Legge, <> Indpendent, 20/09/13

UKBA: Country of Origin Information Report - Bangladesh
This Country of Origin Information (C OI) report has been produced by COI Service, Home Office, for use by officials involved in the asylum and human rights determination process. The report provides background in formation about the issues most commonly raised in asylum/human rights claims made in the United Kingdom (UK). The main body of the report includes information available up to 31 July 2013. The report was issued on 31 August 2013. <>Published on Refworld, 20/09/13

Such a Relief - Sri Lankan Family Saved by the Bell

Things looked pretty bleak yesterday as UK border agency officials retrained the children and forcibly took them to the airport despite their obvious mental anguish.

But their lawyers never stopped fighting and managed to secure a hearing in the High Court late Thursday afternoon. After a fierce three hour battle with the Home Office they obtained an emergency injunction to stop the flight!

It doesn't come much more last minute than this but, for the moment at least, the family are safe. The family's lawyers, Jein Solicitors, are the real heroes but they also asked us to pass on their thanks for all your help. They said your emails helped immensely in building up the pressure around the case, and helping it get a hearing.

So thank you so much to everyone who emailed.

All the best, Fred Carver Director Sri Lanka Campaign
<director@srilankacampaign.org>
Sri Lanka Campaign for Peace and Justice
http://srilankacampaign.org

Urgent Message from: Sri Lanka Campaign for Peace and Justice

The British authorities plan to deport tomorrow (26th September) a three-year old autistic child born in the UK, along with his Sri Lankan parents and siblings who are all suffering mental health problems.

Lawyers say the parents are too mentally distressed to support their children who have already been badly traumatised by an earlier attempt to deport the family last year, that involved detention and being taken to the airport. Medical reports say the eldest child, who is twelve, suffers post-traumatic stress disorder and warned that if he was detained again, as he is now, he would develop significant mental health problems that will need psychological intervention. Such psychological support is in short supply in Sri Lanka.

The father has claimed asylum in the UK on the grounds that he is at risk from (a) being a homosexual (b) past involvement with the Tamil Tiger rebels and (c) taking part in recent antigovernment demonstrations while abroad.

According to an official letter from the Sri Lankan Human Rights Commission there is still an arrest warrant pending against this man under the Prevention of Terrorism Act in Sri Lanka and last year his mother was also detained in connection with his case. The man has been self-harming and having suicidal thoughts. According to medical records, the man wakes up at night screaming and shouting, talks to himself and has taken an overdose of his medication.

Please email the home office pscorrespondence@cabinet-office.gsi.gov.uk
and CITTO@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk and demand that this deportation be stopped.

Please also contact Sri Lankan Airlines and demand that they use their discretion not to fly the passengers. They are booked on flight UL504. You can contact them on reservations@srilankan.com, customer@srilankan.aero or ring+ 94 77777 1979

In your letters please describe the family by their Home Office reference number Z1084763/7. We do not state the father's name here for the sake of his privacy but please contact us if you end up in a discussion with either the Home Office or the Airline and need further details.

All the best, Fred Carver Director Sri Lanka Campaign
<director@srilankacampaign.org>
Sri Lanka Campaign for Peace and Justice
http://srilankacampaign.org

Attempted Suicides Reach all Time High in IRCs

Self Harm in Immigration Detention - April/May/June 2013 

Attempted Suicides have reached an all time high in Immigration Removal Centres as has the number of detainees on Suicide watch; in Quarter two 2013 compared to Quarter one there were:

96 incidents a 24% Increase in Attempted Self-Harm Needing Medical Treatment

750 detainees a 42.5% Increase in detainees deemed to be at risk of Self-Harm

Q2 has shown the worst number of incidents, since records began.

Previous UKBA data on Self-Harm in the UK Immigration estate <http://www.no-deportations.org.uk/Resources/QuickLinks.html>here . . . .

'No-Deportations asked UKBA for figures on self-harm in immigration detention between April/May/June 2013 inclusive, under the following headings:

1. Number of individuals on formal self-harm at risk.

2. Number of Incidents of self-harm requiring medical treatment.

3. Number of deaths if any.

In Campsfield House, Brook House, Colnbrook, Dover, Dungavel, Harmondsworth, Haslar, Morton Hall, Tinsley House, Yarl's Wood IRCs, any Short Term Hold Centres and Cedars pre-departure accommodation.

UKBA replied: The data requested on self-harm in Immigration Removal Centres, Short-Term Holding Facilities (STHFs) and Cedars pre-departure accommodation is detailed in the tables below; it is based on management information only and has not been subject to the detailed checks that apply for National Statistics publications. These figures are provisional and are subject to change.

There have been no deaths at any of the Immigration Removal Centres, STHFs and Cedars pre-departure accommodation during this period.

Previous statistics: January 2007 through December 2012 are <>here . . . .