Iraqi asylum seekers given deadline to return
There was controversy over Home Office correspondence saying that over 1400 Iraqi refused asylum seekers are to be given a three week deadline to sign up for the government’s voluntary returns programme or face complete withdrawal of support. Refugee Council Chief Executive Donna Covey said "It is a nasty policy, and a failed one, that doesn't achieve its stated aim of encouraging return. Iraq is still patently unsafe and people from there are terrified of going back." Refugee Council press release: Support withdrawn from 1400 Iraqis following Home Office announcement
How it was reported in the media:
Guardian: Iraqi asylum seekers given deadline to go home or face destitution in UK
Sky News: Rejected Iraqis to get 'go home' letters
Government resumes deportations to Zimbabwe
Around 500 Zimbabwean refused asylum seekers were sent letters urging them to return to Zimbabwe voluntarily or face expulsion, ending the previous moratorium on deportations. The Independent newspaper, which made this the front page story of its Sunday edition, said that around 1,000 asylum seekers were likely to be affected, and that it undermined Gordon Brown’s tough public stance on Zimbabwe. Refugee Council Chief Executive Donna Covey said “We do not think it is morally acceptable for the government to force people to return to Zimbabwe. There has been no improvement in the human rights situation there, which remains dire.”
The previous week, the Independent had run a feature on Takavafira Zhou, a Zimbabwean teacher and human rights campaigner who had come to London to press for democracy in Southern Africa. Two weeks ago he was detained and tortured by Zanu-PF militia. He is now calling for the EU to take action against Robert Mugabe. Elections will take place in Zimbabwe on 29th March.
How it was reported in the media:
Independent: Britain’s refugee shame
BBC News: UK defends Zimbabwean expulsions
Independent: ‘They made me chant Robert Mugabe is always right, while I was being beaten.’
Gay teenager appeals not to be sent back to Iran
There was a public outcry over the case of a gay Iranian teenager who claimed asylum in the UK after his boyfriend was executed for sodomy. When his claim was refused he fled to the Netherlands but Dutch courts ruled that he should be returned to the UK. More than 80 peers signed a petition asking Home Secretary Jacqui Smith to reverse the decision on his asylum status. The government finally agreed to reconsider his case.
How it was reported in the media:
Independent: A life or death decision
Independent: Squalid priorities
Independent: Gay teenager faces return to Iran after Dutch ruling
Independent: Peers lobby Smith to halt deportation of gay Iranian
Independent: There is no logic to our treatment of Mehdi Kazemi
Times: Gay teenager is facing gallows as his asylum bid is rejected
BBC News: Gay Iranian man loses asylum plea
Independent: Victory for Kazemi as Home Secretary halts deportation to Iran
Guardian: Deportation order on gay Iranian to be reviewed
Cuts to legal aid affect asylum seekers
The BBC reported that cuts to the Legal Aid service are making it difficult for asylum seekers to get the representation that they need. Some solicitors have stopped taking on immigration cases, claiming that lack of investment in Legal Aid means they cannot give a proper service, making it difficult for asylum seekers to find help.
How it was reported in the media:
BBC News: Legal aid cuts affect asylum seekers
Call for suspension of video-link hearings for bail applicants
Refugee Council and Bail for Immigration Detainees called on the Home Office to suspend the roll-out of video link hearings for all detainees applying for bail from immigration removal centres. A joint report from the two agencies demonstrated how using video links rather than taking people to court is making it harder for detainees to access a fair hearing. Refugee Council press release: Bail system 'not set up to get a fair hearing' says Refugee Council
Report: Immigration bail hearings by video link: a monitoring exercise by Bail for Immigration Detainees and the Refugee Council
Actress speaks out for teenage refugees
The Guardian featured an article by the actress Natasha Walter on the shocking stories of three teenage girls locked up in Yarl's Wood detention centre, describing the trauma that they have experienced and questioning why child asylum seekers are being detained. She and fellow actress Juliet Stevenson have worked the stories into a stage format and the play, Motherland was performed at the Young Vic on 15th March.
Guardian feature: Locked up for being a teenage refugee
Citizenship review
There was widespread reporting of Lord Goldsmith’s citizenship review, part of which was dedicated to looking at the experience of citizenship for refugees and asylum seekers as a discrete group. Refugee Council’s chief executive Donna Covey welcomed that fact that the report recommended a review of the right to work for asylum seekers and of the policy of giving refugees five years’ limited leave to remain.
Refugee Council press release: Refugee Council response to Lord Goldsmith's citizenship review
Lord Goldsmith QC’s Citizenship Review
Refugee Council Submission to the Lord Goldsmith QC Citizenship Review January 2008
How it was reported in the media:
Times – Factfile: Proposals of Lord Goldsmith’s report
New evidence of destitution
A report by five leading refugee agencies revealed that more than 40 per cent of asylum seekers and refugees using their services were destitute - with no access to food or shelter. Refugee Council Chief Executive Donna Covey said “The number of destitute people coming to us for help is harrowing. As the survey shows, the system is failing some of the most vulnerable people in our communities.”
Refugee Council press release: 4 out of 10 of the asylum seekers seeking our help are destitute, say refugee agencies
Report: The Destitution Tally: an indication of the extent of destitution among asylum seekers and refugees
Sleepouts to highlight destitution
In support of the ‘Still Human, Still Here’ campaign, of which Refugee Council is a member, sleepouts were held around the UK. Organised jointly by STAR, the student refugee support group and Amnesty International UK, around 40 events were held on 5th March to raise awareness of the destitution faced by refused asylum seekers.
Still Human Still Here campaign website
Unlawful detention case sets crucial precedent
Campaigners welcomed a High Court decision to award £15,000 damages to a Cameroonian asylum seeker. The woman had been raped and tortured before she came to the UK and a judge ruled that she should be awarded damages for unlawful detention because of the length of time she was held without having the correct examinations.
How it was reported in the media:
Guardian: £15,000 for asylum seeker illegally detained in UK
Former Bishop appointed as head of prison monitoring board
The former Bishop of Worcester, Dr Peter Selby made his inaugural speech as the new President of the Independent Monitoring Boards, which monitor the treatment of people in British prisons and removal centres. The son of refugees from Germany and Austria, Dr Selby described removal centres as places of great tension and bemoaned the “loss of our sense of outrage” over the rising number of people held in custody.
How it was reported in the media:
Guardian: Cut from a different cloth
Jewish asylum seekers in Glasgow
The Jewish Chronicle published a feature on Jewish asylum seekers from Russia and the Middle East who are sent to Glasgow when they arrive in the UK. Three couples talked about their reasons for leaving their home countries and the challenges of acclimatising to life in Scotland.
Jewish Chronicle feature: How Jews find asylum in a Glasgow high-rise
Book by refugee shortlisted for top prize
A book written by an Albanian refugee who escaped ethnic cleansing in Kosovo was shortlisted for the prestigious Sundial Scottish Arts Council awards. Shadow behind the Sun tells the story of Remzije Sherifi and her family in Kosovo and how they started a new life in Scotland.
How it was reported in the media:
The Scotsman: Refugee's tale on shortlist for top Scots book prize
