Author: anthony

“You’ll see the outside when you’re in Rwanda”

“You’ll see the outside when you’re in Rwanda”: Mistreatment in UK detention and mass round ups for forced removals

Medical Justice press release for immediate release September 2024

Click here to read the report

We publish our report today analysing the devastating experiences of those rounded up en masse, held in immigration detention and threatened with forced removal to Rwanda in 2024. We do so marking the anniversary of the publication of the report of the Brook House Inquiry, the public inquiry revealing conditions that led to disturbing levels of inhuman and degrading treatment in detention. Detained people are still being subjected to the failures underlying these conditions today, across all UK detention centres.

Our report comes a few weeks after the new Labour government announced plans for a “large surge in enforcement and return flights” and to expand immigration detention by opening Campsfield and Haslar Immigration Removal Centres (IRCs) and days after Keir Starmer said he was “interested” in learning about Italy’s offshoring scheme in Albania.

Detention conditions have recently been described by inspectors to be the worst they have seen, and safeguards meant to protect vulnerable people in detention have been weakened. This report shines a light on the brutal reality of immigration detention to facilitate removal and the harm that is set to be repeated by a large surge in flights and expansion of detention.

Ahead of forced removal charter flights, people are rounded up en masse and locked up in large numbers in detention. This often includes many vulnerable people with histories of torture, trafficking and trauma, who are fearful of the country they are being forcibly sent to. Holding them in detention, an environment that is inherently harmful, causes distress and avoidable suffering. The threatened forced removals to Rwanda in 2024, the subject of this report, is the latest example of this.

Analysing the casefiles, experiences and clinical evidence, of 30 clients who were rounded up and detained for forced removal to Rwanda between 29 April and 4 May 2024, this research has found:

People were handcuffed and detained with no warning, resulting in shock, fear and confusion, as well as suicidal thoughts and self-harming. Those detained included men and women, whose nationalities included Syrian, Eritrean, Ethiopian, Afghani, Iranian and Sudanese.

All were seeking asylum. None had a criminal conviction. 80% of the cohort had histories of torture and/or serious ill-treatment, trafficking and mental health conditions, which made them particularly susceptible to suffering harm as a result of detention and also as a result of the threat of removal to a country which they feared.

During the round up, two clients were recorded to have lost consciousness or collapsed during the process of being detained including one woman who fainted. Both were transferred to A&E and then on to an IRC.

10 did not have any legal representation at the time of their detention and receiving their Notice of Intent for removal to Rwanda.

Trafficking survivors likened their trafficking experience with detention for removal to Rwanda.

There were alarmingly high suicide risk levels and deterioration; Medical Justice clinicians assessed 11 clients, all of whom were found to have mental health conditions, including Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, and all 11 deteriorated in their mental state. 9 of had suicidal thoughts, 2 had self-harmed and 1 attempted suicide shortly after they were detained. 8 expressed that they will or would take their own life if they were forcibly removed to Rwanda.

With a surge of people arriving into detention who have complex healthcare needs a, the dysfunction of detention safeguards was acutely evident, failing to identify, protect and route vulnerable individuals out of detention. None of the 30 people had a Rule 35 (1) or (2) safeguarding report completed as should have happened, including for those who were suicidal.

People were held in detention for up to 50 days which the Home Office justified by stating that a flight was planned within a “reasonable timeframe” even though flights were not imminent in reality and never took off.

The harm caused by detention continued after clients were released back into the community.

This picture of harm is what has characterised many mass round-ups for highly publicised charter deportation flights.

Ahmad*, a torture survivor, was in bed when four people entered his room. One was carrying a shield, another carried what he thought was a gun. He was handcuffed and taken by force from his bedroom. For Ahmad, this was a terrifying trigger of past experiences of being tortured. For the Home Office, it was an opportunity to film and broadcast Ahmad’s ordeal (what Ahmad thought was a gun was in fact a video camera) and to publicise the cruelty inflicted on those targeted for deportation to Rwanda.

Mark* told Medical Justice after he was released that he is “terrified” to report as required to the Home Office that he will be re-detained.

Serena* asked when she will be able to leave and was told “you’ll see the outside when you’re in Rwanda”.

“This dossier evidences the predictable and severe harm caused by the 2024 mass round-up for the Rwanda charter flight – it’s nothing short of a tragedy that it’s so similar to our last dossier on round-ups for deportation charter flights. The new government should abandon its plans to expand detention and ramp up deportation flights that will cause more harm, knowingly – harm that is avoidable, and indeed not accidental.

We agree with the British Medical Association that IRCs should be phased out. Meanwhile, increasing detention before any of the Brook House Inquiry recommendations have been implemented is simply an afront to human decency.” – Ariel Plotkin, Medical Justice Researcher

Available for interview : Dr Rachel Bingham, Medical Justice clinician

Contact : emma.ginn@medicaljustice.org.uk / 07786 517379

*Not their real names

Download the report “You’ll see the outside when you’re in Rwanda”: Mistreatment in UK Detention and Mass Round Ups for Forced Removals”

Notes

Only 1 of 33 of the Brook House Inquiry’s recommendations has been agreed by the Home Office
Medical Justice is the only charity that sends independent volunteer clinicians to visit clients detained in IRCs to document their scars of torture, deterioration of health and injuries sustained during violent incidents. Each year we assist more than 500 people held in immigration detention each year. We publish research, undertake policy work and strategic litigation, and act as the secretariat for the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Immigration Detention. Medical Justice was appointed as a Core Participant of the Brook House Inquiry (BHI) due to its extensive first-hand experience of the clinical safeguarding and healthcare failures in IRCs . Our comprehensive evidence submitted to BHI was pivotal in demonstrating a causal link between the complete failure of clinical safeguards and the violent abuse uncovered.

Induction Training Day For Interpreters

Our Induction Training Day is for new volunteer interpreters who are joining Medical Justice. By joining Medical Justice as a volunteer interpreter, you can have a positive impact on the lives and health of a vulnerable group of people in the UK. Our interpreters help people in detention seek support and advice despite the language barriers and provide crucial interpretation for medical assessments with our volunteer clinicians.

Volunteers can make a difference by donating time remotely by phone/video or by attending immigration detention centres in person to provide skilled and accurate interpretation. You can volunteer your time flexibly and taken on interpreting at the times that are most suited to you.

The training contains sessions on working with medical professionals as well as an introduction to immigration detention, visiting an IRC and interpreting in a mental health context. We also have ongoing opportunities for feedback and support for volunteers.

This training day will be taking place in person near our offices in Finsbury Park, London on Saturday 23 November 2024.

How to join

If you are interested in joining our interpreter team, please contact Lisa at interpreting@medicaljustice.org.uk for an application form. If you are unable to attend in person, please let us know.

Medical Justice is a small charity that sends volunteer doctors (and other health professionals) into the UK’s 7 IRCs to visit men and women detained arbitrarily and indefinitely. We assist about 1,000 detained people a year, most of whom are asylum seekers, and most are later released. Our volunteer doctors write medico-legal reports (MLRs) documenting scars of torture and challenge instances of inadequate healthcare provision, including denial of medication and access to hospital. We are the only charitable organisation in the UK that does this.

Basic Training Day For Clinicians

We are very pleased to announce details of our next Basic Training Day which will take place on Saturday 23 November 2024. The training day will start from 9.30am and end at 5.30pm.

We are very excited to be able to offer this training in person in London. The training day is supported by self-study modules in the assessment of mental health and scarring which we recommend those new to this field complete in advance of the day (approx 4 hours).

Our Basic Training Day is for doctors and psychologists who are interested in volunteering for Medical Justice as medico-legal report writers, visiting detained people in detention centres or conducting remote assessments, assessing their health and documenting clinical evidence of torture and other health issues.

The aim of this course is to gain an understanding of the health and legal needs of asylum seekers and other people detained under immigration powers. The skills learnt will focus on assessing persons detained under immigration powers, as well as medico-legal report writing

The training covers the relevant legal processes, assessing scarring and mental health and report writing skills.

Requirements from Doctors:

ST4 or above, or with equivalent clinical experience (i.e. completed 5 years’ post-qualification)
Full registration from the GMC with a licence to practice
Indemnity insurance
Clinical experience at ST1 level or above with adults or adolescents age 16 or over within the last 3 years. This may include clinical experience with adults in non-NHS or overseas settings.

Requirements from Clinical Psychologists:

At least two years’ post-doctorate experience (or relevant extensive experience in a specialist refugee or trauma service)
Professional registration with the HCPC
Indemnity insurance
Clinical experience with adults or adolescents age 16 or over within the last 3 years (slightly less recent experience may be acceptable if extensive).

Participation fees

On request, fees are reimbursed after the doctor has written an MLR for a Medical Justice referral

£120 – Consultant/GP

£80 – Trainee doctors (ST4 onwards), retired doctors and psychologists

Free – Medical Justice volunteer (carried out one detention visit in last 12 months)

Note: please tell us if you would have difficulties paying a fee – we can help.

How to apply

Please follow link below and provide the information requested and we will be in touch once your details have been reviewed by our Clinical Advisors.

If you are unable to attend in person, please let us know.

If you have any questions, please contact Anthony on a.omar@medicaljustice.org.uk

Submit Registration Details

Medical Justice is a small charity that sends volunteer clinicians into the UK’s 7 IRCs to visit men and women detained arbitrarily and indefinitely. We assist about 1,000 detained people a year, most of whom are asylum seekers, and most are later released. Our volunteer doctors write medico-legal reports (MLRs) documenting the scars and mental health consequences of torture, identify unmet health needs and challenge instances of inadequate healthcare provision. We are the only charitable organisation in the UK that does this. Our training is therefore unique and provided by experienced doctors in the field.

Vacancy | Head of Advocacy

WE ARE NO LONGER ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS

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JOIN OUR MAILING LIST

Are you as determined as we are to reduce the harm caused by immigration detention and to ultimately end it?

Join the Medical Justice team, described by a fellow organisation:

“It is regarded as principled, expert and evidence-based, tenacious in its casework and policy work, fierce and ferocious when needed and brave in the way it speaks truth to power.”

You will be joining an organisation that is making a life-changing difference to hundreds of vulnerable clients in detention each year, as well working to reduce the harm caused by the toxic detention regime with its near-routine levels of inhuman and degrading treatment.

As Head of Advocacy, you will lead the development and delivery of Medical Justice’s advocacy programme, drawing on our evidence of the harm caused by immigration detention, to secure lasting change through combinations of research, policy, parliamentary, and media work, as well as contribute to strategic litigation.

Reporting directly to the Director, you will lead our experienced advocacy team, help develop our strategic objectives and shape our emerging Senior Management Team.

Medical Justice has an organisational commitment to improving the representation of people with lived experience at all levels of organisation, especially leadership roles. We are keen to look beyond the traditional review of your qualifications and work experience to what relevant knowledge and skills you may have acquired through your life experience. Medical Justice is a member of the Experts by Experience Employment Network so candidates with lived experience can receive its support for our jobs.

For full Job Description and Application Form download the Application Pack

Salary : £38,162 per annum

Working hours : Full time.

Responsible for : Line-management of the Parliamentary & Research Analyst and the Researcher

Location : Based at the Medical Justice office in London, with flexibility to work at home up to 3 days a week

The closing date for applications is Friday 20th September 2024. Interviews are planned to take place on Thursday 26th September 2024 at the Medical Justice office and will include a written and verbal exercise

Information Session

On Friday 13 September at 11.30am, we are offering an informal information session about Medical Justice and its work as well as an opportunity to ask questions about the Head of Advocacy role and the organisation before the application deadline – if you are interested in participating, please email our Office Manager, Anthony Omar on a.omar@medicaljustice.org.uk.

Annual Report | Financial Year February 2023 – January 2024

Printed before the change in government.

Read the Annual Report here

563 clients assisted – we provided practical and emotional support, with many visited in detention by our clinicians. Our medico-legal reports (MLRs) documented evidence of torture and deterioration of health in detention.

Targeting Albanians and tragic deaths – through the very high numbers of referrals in 2023, we saw the impact of the Home Office’s targeting of Albanian people and the celebration of deportation flights to Albania featured prominently in the Home Office’s relentless social media. One Albanian man is believed to have taken his own life in quasi detention on a barge, another Albanian man died in detention, and there were many more suicide attempts in detention. Detention is life threatening and we must act with urgency.

‘Second opinion’ Judicial Review win : around 500 people a year spared languishing in detention for longer – the ‘second opinion’ MLR policy was found unlawful. It allowed the Home Office to disregard an MLR by an independent clinician while it obtained a report from a Home Office contracted doctor, who may lack the needed expertise and who may never actually meet the detained person. Home Office caseworkers, who are not clinically trained to evaluate rival reports, then reached decisions which have led to vulnerability being assessed at a lower level and people deteriorating in detention for longer. The Home Office intended to do 10 ‘second opinion’ reports a week, so this win means about 500 people each year are spared languishing in detention for longer. The judge also found an unlawful failure to consult with Medical Justice on changes to the Adults at Risk policy, importantly confirming that we must always be consulted on this ‘flagship’ policy.

Challenging the Illegal Migration Act (IMA) – rushed through parliament, this Act enables a ban on anyone entering the UK irregularly from claiming asylum, gives greater powers to detain them indefinitely and to deport them to a ‘safe third country’. It enables detention to become the default rather than the last resort, and the mass incarceration of men, women and children held in perpetual limbo. Together with Garden Court Chambers, we organised a planning meeting with peers and over 40 representatives from 27 NGOs to discuss a strategy for amendments to the disastrous Bill. It was uplifting to be part of a passionate coalition that acted swiftly and with such determination.

APPG briefing meeting with the Chair of the Brook House Inquiry

Our evidence as a Core Participant to the Brook House Inquiry (BHI) was placed beyond question – We dared to hope for a report from BHI that properly linked the extent of the vile mistreatment of people in detention to the root causes, and to make recommendations that could make a difference. It did just that. Our evidence was not questioned by the Home Office. It was uncontested and extensively cited, greatly bolstering our position and that of others relying on our evidence in individual cases, strategic litigation, parliamentary debate, and media work. The BBC featured our headline research statistics about the ongoing abuse in IRCs a week ahead of BHI’s report, and it was followed by extensive media coverage, including the BBC Radio 4 The Today Programme, several interviews with Medical Justice staff and clients with BBC TV News, ITV News, and Channel 4, and coverage in the Guardian, the Independent and the Daily Mirror. As the secretariat of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Immigration Detention, we organised a briefing meeting with the BHI Chair, attended by staff from the then Shadow Immigration Minister’s office and the Joint Committee on Human Rights.

‘“If he dies, he dies”: What has changed since the Brook House Inquiry?’ research report – our comprehensive analysis of clinical evidence from 66 clients detained since BHI ; 84% had evidence of a history of torture and/or trafficking, and 74% had self-harmed, suicidal thoughts and/or attempted suicide in detention. In March 2023 Frank Ospina is believed to have taken his own life in Colnbrook IRC, a death which then triggered a wave of suicide attempts.

Embedding lived experience : “I can feel the development of Medical Justice since the days I was a client, we have come a long way am particularly proud this year of our achievement to further embed and promote lived experience within the organisation by developing a lived experience Traineeship role.” – Bridget Banda, Medical Justice Vice-Chair

We can influence government to change – The ongoing harm caused by detention has been well known by the Home Office ; it is not accidental. Knowing this can feel overwhelming. Though we must not let that paralyse us as it underlines why the small but mighty Medical Justice is needed more than ever. We remain convinced that in time, we can persuade perhaps a new government to end immigration detention. But it won’t be possible without the evidence and case law we help build today.

We are motivated by the courage of our clients. Each and every member of our community deserves thanks and recognition – every staff member, volunteer, donor, supporter and friend makes their vital contribution. Thank you for being resilient and continuing to witness and challenge the shameful impact of detention. Please don’t stop.

Medical Justice Staff and Volunteers on the London Legal Walk, 2024

Vacancy | Caseworker

WE ARE NO LONGER ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS

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Would you like to work as a Caseworker for Medical Justice assisting people in immigration detention?

We particularly welcome applications from people with lived experience – see the Application Pack for details.

Come and work with Medical Justice, a small and dynamic team that builds on casework to produce research that is used to challenge systemic failures in healthcare provision in immigration detention. We expose medical mistreatment in detention and strive for lasting change for all detained people through policy work, strategic litigation, media coverage and parliamentary action.

“Joining Medical Justice as a Caseworker has been a great experience right from the beginning. The team at Medical Justice are very supportive, knowledgeable, and passionate about the work that they do, it has been a great environment to work in. I found the role to be very rewarding; you get to make a real difference in the lives of those that are vulnerable during some of the most difficult times they are experiencing.

The support I received from the Experts by Experience Employment Initiative was really helpful in applying to and joining this role. They offer support from the beginning stages of applying to support once you join the role e.g., CV/cover letter advice, interview preparation, and onboarding support. I found the advice to be thorough and detailed, the mentor I had was very communicative and supported me throughout the different stages of the application.”

Lujain, Medical Justice caseworker

For full Job Description and Application Form download the Application Pack

Job Purpose: Ensure Medical Justice assists as many people in detention as it can and as well as it can, to access adequate healthcare and obtain high-quality independent medical evidence to progress their legal case.

Salary: £32,283.97 with cost of living increases (if relevant) three times a year plus an annual increase of £500 for 5 years.

Reports to: Casework Manager

Working hours: Full time (37.5h/week)

Based: Medical Justice office (near Finsbury Park, London). After an initial period there will be some flexibility for working from home. The post holder will be expected to attend some external meetings as agreed with the Casework Manager.

Length of contract: 2 years, with renewal if funding available

Terms: 28 days annual leave per annum plus statutory bank holidays

Timeline: The closing date for applications is Sunday 8th September 2024. The interview dates are Thursday 12th and Friday 13th September 2024 at the Medical Justice office and will include a written and verbal exercise. The ideal timeframe for starting the job is as soon as possible.

To apply: Please read the Application Pack which includes the Job Description and the application form. Email your competed application form and your CV to Anthony at a.omar@medicaljustice.org.uk

We look forward to receiving your application !

Submission to SLSC about changes to the Adults at Risk in Immigration Detention policy

In early May, Medical Justice submitted evidence to the House of Lord’s Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee (SLSC) about changes to the Adults at Risk in Immigration Detention Statutory Guidance (AARSG) that significantly reduce already inadequate protections for vulnerable people in detention.

The changes were published by the government in draft form, and were brought into effect on 21 May 2023 via secondary legislation.

The changes include:

removing a previous commitment to reducing the number of vulnerable people in detention and their period of detention.
granting the government the power to seek a second opinion on medical evidence from external providers documenting a person’s vulnerability. Such a provision risks prolonging individuals’ periods of detention and exposing them to further deterioration and harm.
removing a provision whereby victims of torture with a Medico Legal Report from a reputable provider such as Medical Justice were automatically granted the highest level of protection against continued detention.

Concerns raised by Medical Justice to the SLSC included:

the damaging likely impacts of the AAR SG changes, including more vulnerable individuals being detained, for longer periods or time, with an increased risk of suffering harm including human rights violations (e.g. breaches of Article 3 ECHR).
that the changes run entirely counter to the recommendations of the recent Brook House Inquiry. The Inquiry found that safeguards for vulnerable people in detention should be strengthened, not reduced.
the deficiencies in the Home Office’s ‘consultation’ with NGOs on the changes, including lack of necessary information being provided and too short a time-frame.

As a result of Medical Justice’s submission, the SLSC put a detailed list of questions to the Home Office about the AARSG changes.

The SLSC has also issued a report criticising the government’s amendments in a number of different areas. The SLSC’s concerns include that the data provided by the Home Office “does not provide compelling evidence either way on the need for the second opinion policy” and that “the Government has not set out how it will monitor and report on the policy”, despite the fact that the “possible adverse impact of detention on vulnerable people makes these changes controversial”.

You can read Medical Justice’s submission here, and the SLSC’s questions / Home Office’s answers here.

The SLSC’s full report is available here (pp. 1-5)

Joint briefing for parliamentarians on changes to the Adults at Risk in Immigration Detention policy

In collaboration with ten other NGOs, Medical Justice has produced a joint briefing for parliamentarians about alarming recent changes made by the government to the Adults at Risk in Immigration Detention Statutory Guidance (AARSG) that further reduce the already inadequate protections for vulnerable people in detention.

You can download and read a copy of the briefing here

The revised AARSG was published in draft form in April, and came into effect on 21 May 2024. You can read more about the changes here and here (paywall).

Our joint briefing explains the changes in detail and highlights key concerns, including that:

the revised AARSG is likely to result in more vulnerable individuals being detained, for longer periods or time, with an increased risk of suffering harm including human rights violations (e.g. breaches of Article 3 ECHR).

the changes run entirely counter to the recommendations of the recent Brook House Inquiry. The Inquiry found that safeguards for vulnerable people in detention should be strengthened, not reduced.

there were deficiencies in the Home Office’s ‘consultation’ with NGOs on the changes, including lack of necessary information being provided and too short a time-frame.

the House of Lords’ Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee has issued a critical report on the changes, following evidence submitted by Medical Justice.

The briefing is jointly badged with Bail for Immigration Detainees (BID), Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) UK, Refugee Council, Women for Refugee Women, the Helen Bamber Foundation, Detention Action, Association of Visitors to Immigration Detention (AVID), Immigration Law Practitioners’ Association (ILPA), Freedom from Torture, and Gatwick Detainees Welfare Group (GDWG).

Medical Justice plans to continue work to oppose the changes once Parliament returns following the general election.

Vacancy | Clinical Assessor (Doctor)

WE ARE NO LONGER ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS

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We are recruiting for an exciting opportunity to join the Medical Justice team as soon as possible as a Clinical Assessor – Doctor.

Please see the Application Pack for more details.

Clinical Assessor – Doctor

Salary: £12,253.83 per annum per day (for 1 to 2 days a week; £61,269.13 per annum pro-rata).

Reports to: Clinical Advisor

Responsible for: Volunteer clinicians who may accompany your clinical assessments in a training/observer role

Job purpose: To carry out assessments for people detained in immigration removal centres (IRCs). To write Medico-legal reports in accordance with the Istanbul Protocol.

Working hours: 1-2 day a week ([please indicate your preference on the application).

The post-holder will be expected to be flexible and to occasionally be available out of hours where urgent action is required regarding of one of their assessments (for example, if information is needed urgently for the client’s legal case, they might be asked to write a letter. There is no other requirement to provide on-call cover).

Flexible working hours and flexible arrangements for remote working are possible.

Where based: The post-holder will visit Immigration Removal Centres (IRCs) to carry out assessments for people who are detained. Report writing can be done from our office in Finsbury Park or remotely. The post holder will be expected to attend occasional team meetings, trustees’ meetings, training events and other gatherings as required.

Length of contract: Length of contract Permanent. The probation period will be 6 months.

Terms: Pro rata 24 days per annum holiday, plus statutory bank holidays and 4 additional days’ holiday associated with bank holidays which may be decided on by your manager (usually associated with the office closure during Christmas and New Year).

Deadline for application: Midnight, Sunday 11th August 2024 (we may close the vacancy early if a suitable candidate is found before the deadline)

For more information about Medical Justice, the full job description and application form, please download the Application Pack

BBC reveals massive scale of Use of Force training for forcing vulnerable people onto Rwanda deportation flights

Medical Justice exposes Home Office dangerous Use of Force policy ignores Brook House Inquiry recommendations

The BBC has filmed inside aircraft fuselages in a massive hangar where the Home Office is training 800 staff on forcing people into deportation flights to Rwanda. The BBC filmed guards pretending to escort a passive person onto a plane. This is far from the reality of what took place on the (later aborted) 2022 flight to Rwanda; evidence shows how guards forced a suicidal detained person into a waist restraint belt and physically attached them to a seat. Medical Justice’s clients targeted and detained for that 2022 flight included a child, someone who attempted suicide twice, and someone who was likely to have a psychotic disorder and lacked mental capacity.

Watch the BBC TV News footage below

Credit: BBC Breakfast

Read BBC online: “Inside the secret government Rwanda training base”

On May 1st, just before the local elections, the Home Office paraded on social media footage of rounding up and detaining asylum seekers for deportation to Rwanda. Medical Justice has been assisting 36 of them; men and women from Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Sudan, and Eritrea. Even though it’s been announced that there will be no flight to Rwanda before the general election – and likely ever – many remain detained. We demand their immediate release – to not do so, given the medical evidence of abuse in detention, means the harm the government is inflicting is basically premeditated.

This month the Home Office ‘consulted’ Medical Justice on its new Use of Force policy. The policy is as dangerous as ever. It ignores recommendations of the recent Brook House Inquiry into mistreatment of detained people in an immigration removal centre (IRC), finding wonton inhuman and degrading treatment; 19 instances in just one IRC in just 5 months.

The public inquiry found extensive, unnecessary, excessive Use of Force – findings included;

A toxic culture and normalisation of the infliction of pain, suffering and humiliation of detained people
Staff using force to provoke and punish detained people
Unauthorised techniques, including one used by guards who unlawfully killed a detained man on a deportation flight
Riot gear used routinely, including when detained people offered little threat of violence
Force used against people who were physically and/or mentally unwell and against naked people being dragged out of their cell to be taken to a flight
Many detained people who have deteriorated in detention wrongly treated as non-compliant and disruptive, taken to segregation – often by force – as a means to manage distress, self-harm and mental illness symptoms
IRC healthcare staff often facilitated use of force by pre-authorising it and not intervening when it became dangerous
Evidence of pervasive, derogatory and violent verbal abuse and racism revealed an underlying lack of any empathy, even when people were at their most distressed and vulnerable – even in life-threatening situations
Mistreatment in IRCs is ongoing, evidenced in our report “If he dies, he dies”, a callous mantra amongst guards

The Home Office’s new Use of Force policy does not consider the impact of force on those with mental illness at all, ignoring a key recommendation of the Inquiry – established by the Home Secretary – to undertake a review on the use of force on the mentally ill. The policy allows for the use of pain-inducing techniques when these are contraindicated for those with mental illness and, in particular, those who lack mental capacity. Most clients targeted for Rwanda deportation in 2022 that Medical Justice assessed were torture survivors for whom use of force can be experienced as a terrifying re-enactment of past abuse.

The Inquiry found that wholly dysfunctional clinical safeguards were likely to have led to vulnerable detained people deteriorating in their mental and physical health, putting them at risk of mistreatment. Its recommendations included strengthening safeguards, yet the Home Office has just weakened its ‘Adults at Risk’ policy which will allow more vulnerable people to be held in detention, just as the dangerous Use of Force training is rolled out to 800 staff, and at a time when the Illegal Migration Action calls for a massive expansion of immigration detention.

Notes

1. The reality of the brutality of the 2022 Rwanda flight – Liberty Investigates reported extracts from official Use of Force forms; one man was bleeding and would not stop cutting himself until officers seized his arms, that he was treated by a nurse before being handed over to guards to take him by force to the plane. After boarding, another man whose wrists, arms, and head were restrained was screaming, hitting his head against the seat in front – after he started biting his tongue, officers applied a “mandibular angle” pain technique to make him release it. The Independent Monitoring Board reported that one man offering no physical resistance was put in a waist restraint belt (WRB). Two men in WRBs started to scream out their fear and distress, each trying to hurl his torso and head backwards and forwards. Each was seated with an escort on either side, his arms tightly held, his head controlled by an escort facing him. The legs of one had been ‘secured’.

2. “Who’s Paying The Price” report evidences vulnerability of 51 clients targeted for Rwanda in 2022 – Out of 17 people Medical Justice doctors conducted clinical assessments for, 14 had evidence of torture histories and 6 of trafficking. 15 had a diagnosis or symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. One required urgent investigations regarding a brain tumour. 11 people had suicidal thoughts, including one who attempted suicide twice.