There can be no justification for keeping asylum seekers in prison-like conditions
1 year, 1 month ago

There can be no justification for keeping asylum seekers in prison-like conditions

The Independent  

No country likes to have what it sees as its own internal affairs subject to outside scrutiny, even when it has signed up to the international standards that are the subject of the inspection and has done so in the hope and expectation that the same high standards will apply to all. So it is disappointing, and in some particular aspects, shocking, that the report, just published by inspectors from the Council of Europe committee on the prevention of torture, found so many concerns to raise from their visits to UK immigration detention sites and two prisons almost one year ago. The inspectors also noted the difficulties and delays encountered by detainees in receiving specialist help in the event of a mental health emergency. Where two officers accompany the detainee, as is apparently usual practice, it would seem completely unnecessary for the detainee to be additionally tied – or rather, locked – down. Nor should it be any consolation to anyone, least of all to the UK authorities, that so many of the unsatisfactory, even cruel, practices reported by the inspectors are not unique to the detention system.

Detention Practice Inspectors Detainee  practices  detainees  health  seekers  hospital  detainee  mental  asylum  practice  keeping  detention  justification  prisonlike  report  inspectors  conditions

History of this topic

Labour considers plans to deport failed asylum seekers to the BALKANS and lock them in 'detention centres' - as the number of migrants crossing the Channel hits 5,000 this year
2 days, 22 hours ago

Labour considers plans to deport failed asylum seekers to the BALKANS and lock them in 'detention centres' - as the number of migrants crossing the Channel hits 5,000 this year

Daily Mail  

Labour is considering plans to deport failed asylum seekers to the Balkans and lock them in 'detention centres' as the number of migrants crossing the Channel exceeds 5,000 this year. The plans, being drawn up by the government as part of Sir Keir Starmer's approach to stop small boat arrivals, would see Britain paying countries for each person relocated. It …

The UK government’s controversial asylum seeker policy
10 months, 1 week ago

The UK government’s controversial asylum seeker policy

ABC  

KATHRYN DISS, REPORTER: Anger and fear on the streets of London as the consequences of the Conservative government’s controversial political decision set in. KATHRYN DISS: Even though the first flights aren’t due to leave until July, immigration officials have started detaining asylum seekers. KATHRYN DISS: Back at the protest, 27-year-old Nik Mohammad Noori is among those asylum seekers fearful of …

Welcome from freedom hotel: Asylum seeker who is one of the 83 'hardened criminals' freed by High Court ruling goes berserk when approached at drab motel in Sydney suburbia - that YOU are paying for
1 year, 4 months ago

Welcome from freedom hotel: Asylum seeker who is one of the 83 'hardened criminals' freed by High Court ruling goes berserk when approached at drab motel in Sydney suburbia - that YOU are paying for

Daily Mail  

A cheap motel on a highway in Sydney's west is the new home for nine asylum seekers freed from detention by a controversial High Court decision. A resident of a Sydney motel where asylum keepers who have been freed from immigration detention after a High Court ruling abused Daily Mail Australia when he was approached on Wednesday. Two police officers …

UK inquiry: Migrants awaiting deportation are kept ‘in prison-like’ conditions at a detention center
1 year, 6 months ago

UK inquiry: Migrants awaiting deportation are kept ‘in prison-like’ conditions at a detention center

Associated Press  

LONDON — A British inquiry reported Tuesday that migrants awaiting deportation suffered physical and verbal abuse at a government-run detention center, and recommended that no one be kept in such “prison-like” conditions for more than 28 days. Inquiry chairwoman Kate Eves said migrants suffered “shocking treatment” at the Brook House Immigration Removal Center near Gatwick Airport, south of London. Eves …

Asylum applications in Europe continue to rise even after last year’s major surge
1 year, 6 months ago

Asylum applications in Europe continue to rise even after last year’s major surge

LA Times  

Migrants sleep on the floor of a building used by squatters in Brussels in August 2023. Asylum applications in the European Union continued to rise in the first half of 2023 following a major increase last year, adding to the pressure on the bloc’s limited hosting capacities and moving the issue up the political agenda in many of its 27 …

Legal challenges loom as asylum seekers fight transfer to Bibby Stockholm barge
1 year, 7 months ago

Legal challenges loom as asylum seekers fight transfer to Bibby Stockholm barge

The Independent  

Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Asylum seekers ordered …

Asylum system ‘riddled with abuse’ and needs fundamental change – Jenrick
1 year, 9 months ago

Asylum system ‘riddled with abuse’ and needs fundamental change – Jenrick

The Independent  

Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Mr Jenrick said he does not think it is unreasonable to ask asylum seekers …

An assault on asylum? Experts raise alarm
1 year, 11 months ago

An assault on asylum? Experts raise alarm

Al Jazeera  

Experts say the right to asylum is ‘disappearing’ as wealthy nations enact restrictions aimed at keeping people out. “That taps into this fear about who’s coming, and it exposes the desire of government and policy to select people, but unfortunately that’s not how it works.” Extending borders “Border externalisation” takes many forms today, from pushbacks of refugees seeking to reach …

Asylum seekers in hotel targeted by rioters put under curfew as security increased
2 years, 1 month ago

Asylum seekers in hotel targeted by rioters put under curfew as security increased

The Independent  

Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Restrictions at the Suites Hotel, in Knowsley, are part of a range of intensified …

What is behind the row over asylum hotels?
2 years, 1 month ago

What is behind the row over asylum hotels?

The Independent  

Britain’s asylum process is in the spotlight once more, as The Independent reveals applicants cannot be told their status until they are out of ad-hoc hotel accommodation. The Home Office policy states: “Granting protection status for claimants currently in contingency accommodation, such as hotels, can put local authorities under untenable pressure as they will be required by law to find …

New migrant measures treat asylum seekers like criminals, campaigners say
2 years, 3 months ago

New migrant measures treat asylum seekers like criminals, campaigners say

The Independent  

Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Therapy charity Freedom From Torture said the new policies, announced by Prime Minister Rishi …

Asylum seekers ‘effectively detained’ at Home Office hotels, investigation finds
2 years, 5 months ago

Asylum seekers ‘effectively detained’ at Home Office hotels, investigation finds

The Independent  

Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Asylum seekers as young as 16 years old claim they …

Almost 30,000 asylum seekers are waiting to be assessed, nearing 2015 record
2 years, 5 months ago

Almost 30,000 asylum seekers are waiting to be assessed, nearing 2015 record

Dutch News  

Almost 30,000 asylum seekers are waiting to have their cases assessed by the immigration service IND, according to August figures from European statistics agency Eurostat. ‘The longer refugees have to wait for their procedure, the more places are needed in refugee centres,’ spokesman Martijn van der Linden told broadcaster NOS. ‘The fact that the backlog is reaching a new record …

Almost 30,000 asylum seekers are waiting to be assessed, nearing 2015 record
2 years, 5 months ago

Almost 30,000 asylum seekers are waiting to be assessed, nearing 2015 record

Dutch News  

Almost 30,000 asylum seekers are waiting to have their cases assessed by the immigration service IND, according to August figures from European statistics agency Eurostat. ‘The longer refugees have to wait for their procedure, the more places are needed in refugee centres,’ spokesman Martijn van der Linden told broadcaster NOS. ‘The fact that the backlog is reaching a new record …

In Amsterdam, protesters rally for asylum seekers; Separate demonstration opposes immigration
2 years, 6 months ago

In Amsterdam, protesters rally for asylum seekers; Separate demonstration opposes immigration

NL Times  

A demonstration to draw attention to the crisis at the Ter Apel application center for asylum seekers will take place on Sunday afternoon in Amsterdam's Museumplein. The Ter Apel crisis event, which will begin at 4 p.m. on Sunday, is part of a series of demonstrations across the Netherlands called "We Make Place." MiGreat provides aid at Ter Apel "every …

US detention of asylum seekers ‘inhumane and wasteful’: Report
2 years, 11 months ago

US detention of asylum seekers ‘inhumane and wasteful’: Report

Al Jazeera  

Human Rights First says asylum seekers were jailed on average for 3.7 months after being allowed into the United States. “Jailing asylum seekers is fundamentally dehumanising and cruel,” said Becky Gendelman, an associate attorney for research refugee protection at the group and the report’s author. The report, entitled “‘I’m a prisoner here’: Biden administration policies lock up asylum seekers”, found …

Prisons in paradise: Refugees detentions in Greece raise alarm
3 years, 5 months ago

Prisons in paradise: Refugees detentions in Greece raise alarm

Al Jazeera  

Greece appears to be testing the limits of international laws by holding asylum seekers for lengthy periods and in poor conditions, Al Jazeera investigation finds. “I can’t stand one more day there, I will kill myself … I’m still not OK, I see it in my sleep that I’m in prison still.” In March 2020, the Council of Europe’s anti-torture …

Asylum seekers being moved to areas ‘at risk of far-right attacks’
3 years, 11 months ago

Asylum seekers being moved to areas ‘at risk of far-right attacks’

The Independent  

Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Asylum seekers are being placed in unsuitable housing where they …

Measures to discourage asylum seekers from safe countries draw mixed reactions
4 years, 6 months ago

Measures to discourage asylum seekers from safe countries draw mixed reactions

Dutch News  

Plans to discourage asylum seekers from safe countries from coming to the Netherlands will only force them into the illegal circuit and could hurt people who really need asylum, critics have said. Junior justice minister Ankie Broekers-Knol said on Monday she plans to set up two centres for no-hope asylum seekers, in Westerwolde and Cranendonck, which will offer pared down …

Measures to discourage asylum seekers from safe countries draw mixed reactions
4 years, 6 months ago

Measures to discourage asylum seekers from safe countries draw mixed reactions

Dutch News  

Plans to discourage asylum seekers from safe countries from coming to the Netherlands will only force them into the illegal circuit and could hurt people who really need asylum, critics have said. Junior justice minister Ankie Broekers-Knol said on Monday she plans to set up two centres for no-hope asylum seekers, in Westerwolde and Cranendonck, which will offer pared down …

Give asylum seekers with delayed procedures more rights, National Ombudsman
5 years ago

Give asylum seekers with delayed procedures more rights, National Ombudsman

NL Times  

Asylum seekers who have to wait a long time for their asylum application process to start must be given better facilities and more privacy, National Ombudsman Reinier van Zutphen said in a letter to State Secretary Ankie Broekers-Knol of Justice and Security, who is responsible for asylum, NOS reports. According to Van Zutphen, around 9 thousand asylum seekers are currently …

Asylum officers rebel against Trump policies they say are immoral and illegal
5 years, 4 months ago

Asylum officers rebel against Trump policies they say are immoral and illegal

LA Times  

It took Doug Stephens two days to decide: He wasn’t going to implement President Trump’s latest policy to restrict immigration, known as Remain in Mexico. “And I’m not doing them.” A spokesman for the union that represents some 13,000 Citizenship and Immigration Services employees said Stephens is believed to be the first asylum officer to formally refuse to conduct interviews …

Surviving migrant shelters, US detention with a mental illness
5 years, 6 months ago

Surviving migrant shelters, US detention with a mental illness

Al Jazeera  

Healthcare workers say many asylum seekers suffer from mental illnesses but most go untreated due to limited resources. Sometimes I feel like ending …I want to go to an English-speaking country, where there’s less crime, where I can have peace.” ‘Trauma doesn’t go away once you cross the border’ For those who do cross the border irregularly, Hitchen fears the …

US asylum seekers face long waits or risky crossings due to supposed capacity crunch
6 years, 3 months ago

US asylum seekers face long waits or risky crossings due to supposed capacity crunch

CNN  

Nogales, Mexico CNN — As the sun dipped toward the horizon on Thursday, Kevin Ajtun, 16, hunched slightly and pulled his fake leather jacket tight. The letter, first reported by Buzzfeed, said that at a closed December 6 briefing, acting assistant commissioner Jud Murdock told congressional staffers that DHS had chosen to limit processing at ports of entry to 100 …

Home Office is keeping asylum seekers locked up in detention centres 'even after accepting they have been tortured'
6 years, 10 months ago

Home Office is keeping asylum seekers locked up in detention centres 'even after accepting they have been tortured'

The Independent  

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email Get our free View from Westminster email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy The Home Office is keeping vulnerable asylum seekers locked up in …

Brook House: Use of force against immigration detainees more than doubles in a year, watchdog finds
6 years, 10 months ago

Brook House: Use of force against immigration detainees more than doubles in a year, watchdog finds

The Independent  

Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Campaigners said the rise in use of force against detainees highlighted “endemic” problems in …

We can criticise Australia’s policy of detaining refugees on Pacific islands – but the UK is no better
7 years, 3 months ago

We can criticise Australia’s policy of detaining refugees on Pacific islands – but the UK is no better

The Independent  

The best of Voices delivered to your inbox every week - from controversial columns to expert analysis Sign up for our free weekly Voices newsletter for expert opinion and columns Sign up to our free weekly Voices newsletter SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Aussies are famous for their hospitality, …

I’m an MP, and I visited an immigration detention centre undercover – what I discovered was shocking
7 years, 3 months ago

I’m an MP, and I visited an immigration detention centre undercover – what I discovered was shocking

The Independent  

The best of Voices delivered to your inbox every week - from controversial columns to expert analysis Sign up for our free weekly Voices newsletter for expert opinion and columns Sign up to our free weekly Voices newsletter SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. His former cellmate had serious mental …

Court rules against sending asylum seekers to Hungary
7 years, 9 months ago

Court rules against sending asylum seekers to Hungary

Al Jazeera  

Switzerland suspends the provisions of the Dublin Convention in relation to Hungary because of insecure conditions. Judges at the Federal Administrative Court said the situation in Hungary is too insecure for asylum seekers, delivering a verdict in the case of a young male from the Democratic Republic of Congo who had filed a judicial complaint against his return to the …

UN urges EU not to send asylum seekers back to Hungary
7 years, 11 months ago

UN urges EU not to send asylum seekers back to Hungary

Al Jazeera  

Asylum seekers, including children, are being held in shipping containers surrounded by razor fences, the UN says. Refugees and migrants have long suffered dire living conditions in Hungary, a country accused by rights groups of “breaking all the rules” for asylum seekers, including vicious beatings and violent pushbacks by security forces. “The situation for asylum seekers in Hungary, which was …

Asylum seekers in UK placed in rat-infested accommodation, Commons report finds
8 years, 1 month ago

Asylum seekers in UK placed in rat-infested accommodation, Commons report finds

The Independent  

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email Get our free View from Westminster email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. She added: “We have come across too many examples of vulnerable people in unsafe accommodation, …

Refugee centre staff face intimidation from no-hoper asylum seekers
8 years, 3 months ago

Refugee centre staff face intimidation from no-hoper asylum seekers

Dutch News  

Refugee centre staff have sent an urgent appeal to the refugee settlement agency COA calling for steps to improve their safety. In particular, the presence of large groups of young men from north Africa, who have little hope of winning refugee status, is causing problems, the AD quotes the works council letter as saying. EU countries All are considered safe …

Immigration centre staff told: Put 'disobedient' detainees in solitary confinement - even if it could kill them
8 years, 7 months ago

Immigration centre staff told: Put 'disobedient' detainees in solitary confinement - even if it could kill them

The Independent  

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email Get our free View from Westminster email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. A draft “detention services order”, spelling out guidance to staff at the immigration prisons on …

Report: Troublesome asylum seekers to be housed separately
8 years, 11 months ago

Report: Troublesome asylum seekers to be housed separately

NL Times  

Update: 11:20 a.m., 31 March 2016: Justice Secretary Klaas Dijkhoff responded to the report published in the Telegraaf Asylum seekers who cause trouble and can not be immediately deported, will soon be housed in a separate shelter, State Secretary Klaas Dijkhoff of Security and Justice writes in a letter he will soon sent to parliament, the Telegraaf reports Dijkhoff writes …

Europe's Asylum Seekers Face Psychological Trauma, PTSD
9 years, 4 months ago

Europe's Asylum Seekers Face Psychological Trauma, PTSD

Huff Post  

Pacific Press via Getty Images Many of the refugees arriving in Europe by way of treacherous land and sea crossings from the Middle East and Africa likely count post-traumatic stress disorder and other psychological trauma among their burdens, new research suggests. The very preliminary research from one refugee intake center in Dresden, Germany, finds that 16 of the 23 people …

Europe migrant crisis: Borders tightened, tensions heightened across Schengen free-travel zone
9 years, 4 months ago

Europe migrant crisis: Borders tightened, tensions heightened across Schengen free-travel zone

ABC  

European nations are tightening their borders as they struggle to cope with the mass movement of refugees and migrants, threatening the European Union's ideal of the free movement of people across the continent. Key points: Asylum seekers struggle to pass through Balkan states Strain mounts on Europe's Schengen free-travel agreement Tony Abbott's advice to turn back asylum seekers resonates with …

Fate of detained asylum seekers remains unclear as Government deflects questions from United Nations
10 years, 8 months ago

Fate of detained asylum seekers remains unclear as Government deflects questions from United Nations

ABC  

Both the United Nations and a Senate inquiry have failed in efforts to cast any light on the fate of 153 asylum seekers detained at sea by Australian authorities. There have also been attempts to grill the Commander of Operation Sovereign Borders, Lieutenant General Angus Campbell, during a Senate inquiry on Friday into the deadly February violence at the Manus …

Asylum seekers fear worse to come in Israel
11 years, 4 months ago

Asylum seekers fear worse to come in Israel

Al Jazeera  

As the Israeli government rapidly moves forward with a legislative amendment that would create “open detention centres” to hold thousands of African asylum seekers, human rights groups say the changes mark a new low in Israel’s treatment of African migrants. The proposed government amendment to Israel’s Prevention of Infiltration Law would shorten the mandatory prison terms for asylum seekers who …

The demise of the asylum and the rise of care in the community
12 years, 3 months ago

The demise of the asylum and the rise of care in the community

The Independent  

Sign up to our free Living Well email for advice on living a happier, healthier and longer life Live your life healthier and happier with our free weekly Living Well newsletter Live your life healthier and happier with our free weekly Living Well newsletter SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. …

Detention centres are factories for mental illness
13 years, 4 months ago

Detention centres are factories for mental illness

ABC  

Following the screening of a confronting Four Corners investigation into the mental health of people being detained in immigration centres while their applications for refugee and asylum status are being assessed, a colleague in the mental health sector commented, "I'm ashamed to be Australian." This is why so many of Australia's mental health and health organisations have united in demanding …

Panel: U.S. Mistreats Asylum Seekers
20 years, 1 month ago

Panel: U.S. Mistreats Asylum Seekers

NPR  

Panel: U.S. Mistreats Asylum Seekers A new report from a congressionally appointed commission says many asylum seekers in the United States are subjected to harsh jail conditions. Files created at U.S. ports of entry are often incomplete and unreliable, and treatment varies depending on where an asylum seeker enters the country, the panel says. Law Panel: U.S. Mistreats Asylum Seekers …

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