Friday, 24 May 2013 – Thursday,30 May 2013
WWW.AFRICANVOICEONLINE.CO.UK
ISSUE 483
SINCE 2001
B R I TA I N ’ S N O . 1 A F R I C A N N E W S PA P E R Dr Thopmson wins 2013 Woman4Africa award
SEE PAGE 6
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Memorial service for Prof.Chinua Achebe held in London
SEE PAGE 9
Dagenman jailed for internet fraud SEE PAGE 14
UK did illegally hold torture victims Judge describes unlawful detention as disturbing
By Alan Oakley The High Court has ruled in favour of torture survivors who felt their detention in Immigration Removal Centres contravened Home Office policy. Five claimants, assisted by the charity Medical Justice and the Helen Bamber Foundation were able to highlight systemic failings in the application of the Home Office’s own policy that where there is independent evidence that an individual has been the victim of torture, they should only be detained in very exceptional circumstances. In 2012, Medical Justice published a detailed report – ‘The Second Torture’, which found that the safeguards to identify victims of torture were failing at every stage and that torture survivors were routinely being detained in breach of Home Office policy. The report was validated by similar findings made by the HM Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration in a report published in December 2012. The Second Torture exposes how victims of torture are routinely being held in immigration detention centres in disregard of UK policy and legislation. The safeguarding procedure, known as Rule 35, designed to protect torture survivors was found to be not fit for purpose. The report is based on 50 people who have medical evidence of the torture they sustained, 14 of whom now have been granted leave to remain. Policy guidance and legislation make
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clear that individuals who have independent evidence of torture should be released, absent very exceptional circumstances. However, the report shows that victims of torture are routinely detained and the release mechanism fails to work. Of the 50 cases examined, only one person was released through Rule 35. Of the five cases brought to the High Court, one was settled by the Home Office before going before the judge. In the remaining four, Mr Justice Burnett, presiding, found the individuals were detained unlawfully. In issuing the Court’s ruling, Mr Justice Burnett described the situation as “disturbing”. Jamie Beagent, representing the torture victims, explained: “This is not what should have happened. Rule 35 of the Detention Centre Rules, and associated Home Office policy, provides for a procedure by which torture survivors should be identified by medical staff at the Immigration Detention Centres and alerted to Home Office caseworkers who should then apply their policy and release the torture victim. “However, in each of these cases this failed: obvious physical evidence such as scarring was missed and reports were not prepared on time or at all. In most cases a detainees allegation of torture was recorded without any actual medical assessment or concerns raised. In turn, Home Office caseworkers simply accepted these reports without seeking more information and dismissed allegations on the basis that the caseworker did not believe the detainee.
Minister for Employment Mark Hoban, Seyeb Hadian owner of Natural By Nature, a beneficiary of the New Enterprise Allowance and Dragons’ Den star Levi Roots.
New Enterprise Allowance meets reggae reggae SEE PAGE 7