UK: Hunger strikes
01 January 1991
UK: Hunger strikes
artdoc April=1993
Hunger-strike at Haslar and outside Home Office
At the beginning of March, 100 asylum-seekers, mainly from Zaire
and Nigeria, at Haslar prison in Gosport, Hampshire, went on
hunger strike in protest at their length of detention. According
to the Winchester Action Group for Asylum Rights, the men, many
of whom had been kept for up to 12 months, wanted to be released
on temporary admission into Britain pending the resolution of
their cases (Guardian 6.3.93)
Meanwhile, five Kurdish men staged a hunger strike outside the
Home Office in February. The British government had previously
deported the five men (part of a group of 23 Kurds) to Turkey in
1989 where they were tortured. But, after a legal action in which
the Home Office was accused of deporting them without proper
consideration of their asylum applications, as required by the
immigration rules, the Home Office brought the Kurds back from
Turkey and made them an ex-gratia payment of Ã120,000.
The men say that their claim for asylum should be considered
as from 1989, but officials refuse to accept this or that they
were illegally deported (Guardian 8.2.93).
Progress of Asylum Bill delayed
During the debate on the Asylum and Immigration Appeals Bill, the
House of Lords has succeeded in introducing an amendment The new
clause proposes the establishment of a panel of children's
advisors for young asylum-seekers to cover both their arrival and
claim and settlement matters. This means that the Bill will now
have to return to the Commons (Financial Times 3.3.93).
Immigration duties to be contracted out
According to an expose in the Independent, the Home Office is
considering handing over immigration controls at ports and
airports to private companies as part of a general multimillion
pound package of `market testing' Home Office duties.
Tony Blair, the shadow home secretary, has criticised the
proposals, saying: `There is serious doubt in ... contracting out
any branch of the immigration service because it affects the
fundamental rights of those seeking entry to the country'
(Independent 12.93, 2.2.93).
Followings parliamentary question, it has been revealed that
the Home Office is planning to` provide an additional 300
detention places in phases from 1993 to 1995 to accommodate those
detained under immigration powers, including asylum
applications'(Hansard 11.2.93).
`National security' deportation
The High Court has ruled that the Home Secretary's decision to
deport Karamjit Singh Chahal, a Sikh separatist, from the UK `for
reasons of national security' and in the interests of the
`international fight against terrorism' was `reasonable' and
`within his powers'.
Home secretary Kenneth Clarke says that he has evidence that
Karamjit Singh Chahal, who has lived in the UK for 20 years, was
involved in planning and directing terrorist attacks in India,
the UK, and elsewhere. His supporters deny his involvement in
terrorism and say that his deportation order is aimed at
improving Indo-British relations.
David Burgess, Mr Chahal's lawyer, points out that the judge
had not been able to see all the material before the Home
Secretary for security reasons. But the judge, Mr Justice Potts,
said that the home secretary was under no obligation to put all
evidence relating to national security matters before the court
(Guardian 13.2.93, Independent 13.2.93).
Inquest into death of asylum-seeker adjourned
Lawyers representing the family of the Zairean refugee, Omasase
Lumumba, have challenged a coroner's decision to rule out
unlawful killing' as a possible verdict on how he came to die in
Pentonville prison in 1991. The coroner has now referred the
matter to the High Court.
During the inquest it emerged that Mr Lumumba, a nephew of the
first Zairean president, Patrice Lumumba, died after being
forcibly restrained by at least five prison officers who sat