Sudan: Police Fatally Shoot 12 Darfur Protesters
The Sudanese government should forcefully condemn the killing of 12 peaceful student protesters in South Darfur by police and other security forces on July 31, 2012, and investigate and prosecute those responsible.
In Nyala, South Darfur, high school students started protesting on July 30 against transportation price increases. The following morning, police and national security forces dispersed the protests by shooting tear gas, rubber bullets, and live ammunition at protesters. As of August 2, at least 12 protesters had died, according to Sudanese nongovernmental groups monitoring the situation. A 16-year-old boy, a 17-year-old girl, and four other teenagers were among those killed.
Human Rights Watch, 03/08/12
USA: Immigrants Prove Big Business For Prison Companies
There is a mutually beneficial and evidently legal relationship between those who make corrections and immigration policy and a few prison companies. Some of those companies were struggling to survive before toughened immigrant detention laws took effect.
Locking up illegal immigrants has grown profoundly lucrative for the private prisons industry, a reliable pot of revenue that helped keep some of the biggest companies in business. And while nearly half of the 400,000 immigrants held annually are housed in private facilities, the federal government — which spends $2 billion a year on keeping those people in custody — says it isn't necessarily cheaper to outsource the work, a central argument used for privatization in the first place.
A decade ago, just 10 percent of the beds in the nation's civil detention system were in private facilities with little federal oversight. Now, about half the beds are part of a sprawling, private system, largely controlled by just three companies: Corrections Corporation of America, The GEO Group, and Management and Training Corp.
Garance Burke/Laura Wides-Munoz, Associated Press, 02/08/12
GEO Group manage, Dungavel and Harmondsworth IRCs
Continuing Conflicts that Create Refugees - July 2012
5 actual or potential conflict situations around the world deteriorated ands none improved in July 2012, according to the new issue of CrisisWatch
Deteriorated Situations: India (non-Kashmir), Madagascar ,Mali, Syria, Tajikistan
Download the full report: CrisisWatch N°108
Ahmad and others (removal of children over 18) v. SSHD
There is no power under the provisions of section 10(1)(c) of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 to remove children who are over the age of 18 years as the family members of an adult being removed under section 10(1)(b) of that Act.
Download the decision: Refworld, 28/07/12
Garden Court Chambers - Immigration Law Bulletin - Issue 285
Urgent: Please help Freda Nsumba - Removal Saturday 4th August
Freda Nsumba a national of Uganda Is currently detained in Yarl's Wood IRC and is due to be forcibly removed from the UK on Qatar Airways Flight QR002 to Doha on Saturday the 4th August 2012 at 21.30 hours then Qatar Airways Flight QR536 to Entebbe, Uganda.
(Background @ end of post)
What you can do to help
(please let the campaign know of any actions taken,
info@unitycentreglasgow.org)
1) Email/Fax, Akbar Al Baker CEO Qatar Airways. Urge him not to carry Freda Nsumba. due to be forcibly removed from the UK on Qatar Airways Flight QR002 to Doha on Saturday the 4th August 2012 at 21.30 hours then Qatar Airways Flight QR536 to Entebbe, Uganda.
Download model letter FredaNsumbaQA.doc or you can copy/amend/compose your own.
Put as much pressure on this airline as you can, to make them consider if it's worth the damage to their reputation to continue as one of UKBA's deportation airlines.
Fax: 0161 838 5398
Email: akbar@qatar.net.qa
2) Email/Fax Theresa May, Home Secretary
Ask her to exercise her discretionary powers to stay the removal and release Freda Nsumba from detention and to grant her protection in the UK. Download model letter, FredaNsumbaTM.doc or alternatively write your own one. Please remember to quote Freda's Home Office Reference number N1129180/2 in any correspondence.
Fax: 020 7035 4745
Emails:
Privateoffice.external@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk
pscorrespondence@cabinet-office.x.gsi.gov.uk
"CIT - Treat Official" <CITTO@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk>
Source for this alert:
The UNITY Centre
30 Ibrox Street
Glasgow
G51 1AQ
0141 427 7992
www.unitycentreglasgow.org
info@unitycentreglasgow.org
The UNITY Centre is run entirely by volunteers and funded completely by donations from our supporters. We need your help! If you would like to help by making a donation or by volunteering you can find more details on our website. Thank you! UNITY!
Freda came to the UK in 2007, leaving Uganda because of her sexuality. Homosexuality is criminalised in Uganda and violent homophobia is endemic in the country. Legislation to punish "repeat offenders" of consensual same-sex relations with the death penalty has been re-introduced to parliament, and harassment of LGBT people is widespread. The Home Office Country of Origin Information Report states that "In recent years, the harassment of Uganda's LGBT community has increased, including the arrests of members of the LGBT community … The proposed [Anti-Homosexuality] bill would likely lead to intensified violence and harassment toward anyone thought to be homosexual … many lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) persons have been expelled, sacked from jobs and sent away from families. Many do not receive appropriate and necessary healthcare services for fear of revealing their sexual orientation, identity or preferences …Transgender individuals and lesbians have been subjected to 'curative' rape and the perpetrators in most of the cases recorded come from the victims' immediate families" Freda herself has suffered beatings and torture in Uganda due to her sexuality, and her family disowned her when they discovered she was gay.
Freda did not realise that she could claim asylum in the UK on the grounds of her sexuality, however, she found safety in London were she studied Health and Social Care at London College of Management Studies. When she graduated in 2010, she felt she could not return to Uganda safely. During this time, Freda had also met Annie* who she has been with for over a year. Even though Freda has been living Annie during this time, and despite showing evidence of her sexuality, and of the threat of persecution she faces should she be returned to Uganda, the Home Office refuse to accept her claim and have fast-tracked her claim for asylum. Even when Annie testified in court confirming their relationship, the judge dismissed her story.
Moreover, this week Freda has received a letter from the local representative of her local community in Uganda. Freda had contacted them asking for protection should she be returned, however, the letter gives evidence that Freda is at great risk and states that her sexuality will not be tolerated by the local people. It suggests that she is not welcome back in Uganda. Relocation within Uganda would not protect her, as homophobia is so widespread in Uganda. Freda has shown this letter to the Home Office but they appear to have ignored this evidence as well. Freda has now been issued with imminent removal directions.
Freda believes that she has not been given a fair trial and that her claim for asylum ha not been properly considered. Freda went to the Home Office in Croydon on the 25th June 2012 to claim asylum and was immediately detained and fast-tracked. The Home Office guards and staff did not explain to her what was happening and she was extremely frightened. She was not given any food to eat, was driven around for hours and eventually detained at Yarl's Wood at 2:00am on the 26th June. Since being detained, Freda's mental health condition has deteriorated sharply. She is anxious and now on anti-depressants to cope with stress.
Freda feels very isolated and scared. She really values the kindness which has been shown to her, and if you want to send a message of support, please send it to Unity and we will forward it to her. It would really make a difference and make her feel like she's not in this alone.
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Dutch Cannot Send Back Westernized Somali Asylum-Seeker
The Netherlands' highest legal body has ruled that the Dutch government must take into consideration how Westernized asylum-seekers are when evaluating their asylum requests. It follows thus that if asylum-seekers are unable to readjust to their country of origin, they must be allowed to stay in the Netherlands.
The Dutch Council of State made this decision in a case involving a Somali woman. The Dutch authorities had rejected her asylum request, which meant that she would have to return to Somalia. But the council ruled that Somali refugees have adopted too many Western norms and values to be able to return to Somalia, where they would have to live under the strict Islamic rule of the al-Shabaab movement.
The ruling follows a judgement by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in June 2011. The court found that Somalis who were Westernized and forced to return to their country had a greater chance of facing serious problems.
Source: Radio Netherlands, 01/08/12
14 Children entered Cedars Accommodation in June 2012
18 Children entered Cedars Accommodation in May 2012
Child detention continues unabated, this is the highest number of children detained since Cedars began accepting children in October 2011.
Prisoner transfer agreement with Albania
A new agreement seeing a greater number of Albanian prisoners transferred from the UK to complete their sentences in Albania has been signed. The agreement, signed by Prisons Minister Crispin Blunt and the Albanian Deputy Justice Minister, Brikena Kasmi , is the first to be signed with a country with a large number of foreign national offenders in UK prisons. It will see the compulsory transfer of Albanian national prisoners currently serving sentences in the United Kingdom, to prisons in Albania. The agreement also means that British citizens who are serving prison sentences in Albania may also be compulsorily transferred.
To be open for Business, Britain Needs Immigrants
Restrictive visa policies are at odds with the country's economic needs. One of the winning factors in London's bid to host the 2012 Games was the pledge to celebrate those traditions that Britain shares with the Olympic movement: the diversity, the global outlook, the open-to-all inclusivity. The promise was not an empty one. With the Games now upon us, it can be seen in everything from the location in east London, to the make-up of Team GB, to the 70-day torch relay that criss-crossed the nation.
It is also evident, albeit in a different form, in the Global Investment Summit (the first of 17 over the coming weeks) that opened on Thursday with a rousing speech from the Prime Minister full of assurances about "getting behind" British business.
Leader: Indpendent, 27/07/12
Rwanda Loses £16 Million of UK Aid
Rwanda, one of Britain's closest African allies, has lost £16 million of UK aid after being accused of fuelling a rebellion in the Democratic Republic of Congo that has driven 470,000 people from their homes.
Read more: Telegraph, 27/07/12
Anti-Muslim Prejudice Hinders Integration
Muslims in Europe want to interact with other Europeans and participate as full and equal members of society, but regularly face various forms of prejudice, discrimination and violence that reinforce their social exclusion. This is the conclusion of recent research by various international organisations and NGOs. Unfortunately, commentators on the Arab Spring missed the historic opportunity to deconstruct harmful stereotypes about the alleged incompatibility of Islam and democracy, instead exaggerating the risk of migration to Europe.
Muslims have become the primary "other" in right-wing populist discourse in Europe. Political parties in Austria, Bulgaria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway and Switzerland have employed anti-Muslim rhetoric for political gain. Politicians frequently refer to Muslims when discussing the alleged "failure of multiculturalism". However, multiculturalism as a strategy of promoting intercultural dialogue while at the same time preserving cultural identities has hardly been tried in most countries.
Read More: Nils Muiznieks, EU Commissioner for Human Rights
Nato says Afghan militant attacks are up 11%
Insurgent attacks in Afghanistan during the past three months were up 11 per cent, compared to the same period last year, according to the latest statistics on monthly violence released by the US-led coalition. The figures, which Nato released yesterday, also show that the number of attacks in June was the highest for any month since fighting surged in the summer of 2010.
Read more: Deb Riechmann, Independent, 27/07/12
India: Rescind "Shoot at Sight" Orders in Assam
Authorities in India should rescind "shoot at sight" orders to enforce a curfew in the northeastern state of Assam, Human Rights Watch said today. The government should ensure compliance with international standards in responding to ethnic violence, and promptly investigate and prosecute those responsible while addressing the underlying causes of the clashes.
Violence between indigenous Bodo tribes and Muslim migrant settlers that started in Kokrajhar district on July 20, 2012, has since spread to three other districts of Assam, resulting in the deaths of at least 45 people and displacing nearly 300,000. A senior local police officer said that the police have been given "shoot at sight" orders, allowing them to use live ammunition against people violating the curfew imposed on some areas since July 21. Local officials confirm that since the order was issued, the police have fatally shot four people who were allegedly attempting to burn down properties.
Human Rights Watch, 27/07/12
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