Amendment to the Immigration Bill limiting Segregation
Last week, Lord Ramsbotham (pictured below) said during the 2nd reading of the Immigration Bill in the House of Lords that he would be tabling an amendment limiting the use of Segregation in immigration detention.
“I shall be tabling an amendment to end the use of segregation during detention, unique in Europe. People describe the locking up of prisoners who have broken the law for 23 hours a day as inhuman treatment. How much worse is the use of similar treatment on innocent immigrants?”
Read more about the amendment here, including the debate during Committee stage.
Morton Hall to close as an IRC
Medical Justice trustee Janahan Sivanathan (pictured below) and Director, Emma Ginn, spoke to the Guardian. You can read the article here.
Janahan, a Tamil refugee who is now a law student commented ;
“The fact that this place is closing is a huge thing,” … “I was there for almost five months in 2014 and was detained there again for five days in 2015. The treatment by the guards and the bullying I experienced there has had long-lasting effects on me. I went on hunger strike and self-harmed, burning myself with cigarettes while I was in there. The scars on my body remind me of that place every single day. The effects are never-ending.”
Janahan said that he hoped the Home Office’s six other immigration detention centres and two short-term holding centres would also close.
Medical Justice submission to the Joint Committee on Human Rights last week
A considerable number of people have been released from immigration detention in response to the Covid-19 crisis. However, most recent figures show that the government is continuing to hold around 650 people under immigration powers, either in immigration removal centres (IRCs) or prisons.
Download the submission in full here.
Related Articles
Jesuit Refugee Service | 27/06/2020
“Our new report finds immigration detention destroys sense of humanity and fosters culture of death
“People outside will never know what happened there.”
We have today released a report which finds that the indefinite and arbitrary process of immigration detention destroys a person’s sense of humanity and fosters a culture of death, suicide and self-harm; causing long-term damage to physical and mental health. ‘Detained and Dehumanised: The impact of immigration detention’ draws from the accounts of 27 forcibly displaced people supported by JRS UK, with direct experience of detention spanning the last 20 years.”
Download the report here.
“Mental illness concerns at Lincolnshire immigration centre”
BBC | 24/06/2020
“A watchdog has raised concerns over people with mental illnesses being held in an immigration detention centre. A report into Morton Hall near Lincoln found a man with “severe mental health conditions” was held for 70 days before being transferred to a specialist unit.”
“Home Secretary to accept Windrush Lessons Learned recommendations “in full”
Freemovement | 24/06/2020
“The Home Secretary has said that she will be accepting the Windrush Lessons Learned Review “in full”. The report by senior police inspector Wendy Williams, published in March 2020, contains 30 recommendations calling for root and branch reform at the Home Office.”
“Alarming lack of oversight and accountability” at short-term holding facilities”
Freemovement | 24/06/2020
“The prisons inspector has recommended a national overhaul of the short-term detention system after an inspection of the Home Office’s 13 short-term holding facilities (STHFs).”
“Covid-19: Death toll rises to 121 after one more death recorded in M’sia today – Health DG”
Borneo Post | 14/06/2020
“KUCHING: The Covid-19 death toll in Malaysia has risen to 121 as one more death was recorded today, said Health Director-General Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.
He said the 121st death (Case 7,468) involved a male Indian national aged 67 who was a detainee at the Immigration detention depot in Bukit Jalil.”
