Detention of Torture Survivors Ruled Unlawful
The High Court judge has today ruled that the detention of torture survivors by the British Government was unlawful following legal action brought against the Home Office on behalf of five victims of torture who had been subjected to lengthy periods of detention in Immigration Removal Centres.GPs must not be a new border agency
The Royal College of General Practitioners has responded to the indication given in the Queen’s speech that GPs and other medical practitioners will be required to check the immigration status of people presenting themselves for consultations: “GPs must not be a new ‘border agency’”. (Ctrl+Click here to read their statement on Migrants’ Rights Network) Read more
UKBA failing to make correct decisions on asylum applications
Report by ‘Still Human, Still Here’ demonstrated UKBA failing to make correct decisions on asylum applications. (Ctrl+Click here for full article by STAR (Student Action for Refugees))
In the last 3 years, more than a quarter of initial decisions made by the UKBA to refuse asylum have been overturned on appeal. A report published by Amnesty International and the Still Human Still Here coalition looks at why this is happening. Read more
Release Abdul Ghafar Rajabali from detention
May 19, 2013 by admin
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QARN members will be aware that the situation of people being removed to unsafe countries is not unusual. Leicester City of Sanctuary and other people are finding out how the system operates and have been very active to prevent the removal of Abdul Ghafar Rajabali, a 23 year old from Afghanistan who has made his home in Leicester. He has been detained and is facing deportation to Afghanistan.
Abdul faced terrible persecution in Afghanistan: his father was Russian and when Abdul was a baby, his parents and all his family were murdered. Read more
UK Immigration Courts: fresh observations from the Public Gallery
Two years ago trained members of the public attending immigration bail hearings published their first report, “A Travesty of Justice”. Today the Bail Observation Project reports again. Unfairness and lack of due process persist.
“I am not going to abscond. I trust myself not to. This place is getting into me. Home Office can’t get travel documents. I beg you, I bow down, let me out of here.”
These were the words of a man from Gambia, who had been detained in an immigration removal centre and was applying for bail. He had been held for seven months and this was his third application. Like the previous applications it was turned down. He was not physically present in the court but sitting alone in a room in Harmondsworth Immigration Removal Centre near Heathrow Airport. He was facing a screen which provided a video link to a hearing centre near London. He had no legal representative and no one to stand surety for him. Read more
Asylum Seekers and Migrants on Hunger Strike
Blog post by NCADC volunteer, Sarah McCarthy: For centuries, hunger strikes have been a powerful form of protest, usually used as a last resort by the most desperate. Currently, over 100 of the remaining 166 prisoners at Guantánamo Bay are engaged in a hunger strike to protest their indefinite detention and inhumane treatment. Across the globe, there are many people taking the same action, including asylum seekers and migrants in several countries. These are just some of the stories so far in 2013. Read more
Support Mary Adenugba Camapign
April 19, 2013 by admin
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Manchester and Warrington Quaker Social Justice Group ask you to support Mary Adenugba Camapign to remain in the UK in Manchester amongst her friends.A Question of Credibility
The number of decisions overturned on appeal is testament to on-going problems with the asylum decision-making process, Amnesty International and the Still Human Still Here coalition said today as they published a new report.
The report A question of credibility: Why so many initial asylum decisions are overturned on appeal in the UK (PDF) examines why so many initial decisions to refuse asylum are being overturned by Immigration Judges.
Home Office statistics show 25% of initial decisions to refuse asylum are being overturned on appeal.
For this report, researchers examined a sample of 50 randomly selected cases and found that in the vast majority – over 80% – a flawed credibility assessment resulted in the wrong decision being arrived at in the first instance. Researchers analysed refusal letters and appeal determinations in cases concerning asylum applicants from four countries with particularly high appeal overturn rates; Syria, Sri Lanka, Iran and Zimbabwe. Read more
QARN Annual Report 2012
Quaker Asylum and Refugee Network is a network of Quakers across UK who share a concern about the injustices that are practiced in our name, and a determination to bring about change for those who have been forced to seek asylum and to reach out with support for those who share our concern. QARN members hold discussions and share information through the email group, and those who can meet together about four times a year in a different part of the country each time. Read more
Sheffield Council passes motion on destitution
On 3 April 2013, Sheffield City Council unanimously passed a motion on asylum seekers which was submitted by the secretary of the Labour Group and supported by the Lib Dems and Greens.The motion states that the Council shares the concerns raised by groups working with refused asylum seekers about the levels of destitution in Sheffield and outlines action to be taken by the Leader of the Council (full text attached as a file).
In addition, a Motion on destitution is also being proposed in Oxford and this will be discussed at the next City Council meeting on 22 April 2013. Read more
