Ay Family: Let there be justice
The fate of one family highlights the flaws in our asylum system
Lorna Martin The Observer Sunday November 7th 2004
Shortly after 9.30am on 5 August, last year, four children and their mother were escorted by immigration and security officers aboard a flight from Stansted to Frankfurt. The Ay family were, to use Home Office-speak, failed asylum seekers, so they had to be removed, like a stain, from British soil.
Beriwan, then 14, Newroz, 13, Dilovan, 12, eight-year-old Medya and their mother, Yurdugal, had spent four years, one month and 17 days in this country. The first three years were the best of the children's lives. They lived in Gravesend, Kent, made friends, excelled at school. But when the Home Office got round to processing their asylum application, it was rejected. Mr Ay, a Kurd who'd fled Turkey with his wife 15 years previously, was immediately deported to Germany then onto his homeland and hasn't been heard of.
Meanwhile, Mrs Ay lodged a claim in her name. It, too, was rejected but because of her fears of being sent to Turkey - a country none of her children had set foot in and which has an appalling record of human rights abuses against Kurds - she appealed.
New Labour had not long tightened immigration laws so that families with children could be detained without time limit and under the same rules as adults. Mrs Ay was deemed a 'serial absconder' who had 'committed immigration sins'. She and her children were locked up at Dungavel detention centre, a former prison. For one year and 19 days the children and their mother shared one small room, into which they were shut for 22 hours a day.
A respected emeritus professor of child and adolescent psychiatry at University College, London, examined the children after six months and concluded they were effectively being held as prisoners in a high-security jail. In Scotland, someone accused of murder or rape can be held for only 110 days without trial. According to other medical experts all the children suffered psychological trauma. Newroz's hair began to fall out; she developed a hand tremor; stopped eating; and effectively stopped talking. Teachers in Kent had described her as an exceptional pupil.
Dilovan became confrontational and withdrawn; Medya tearful and clingy. Even Beriwan, initially the most robust, began to lose her resilience.
I first visited the Ay family in July 2003. I'd brought sweets and toiletries but couldn't give them to the children because, said the guard, there was alcohol in the shampoo and nail polish, and the sweet boxes could, for all she knew, contain drugs. I was escorted to the visiting room where I met four of the most well-mannered, articulate, intelligent and endearing children I've ever come across, who told me the things they missed: going out to play (they were allowed outdoors between 3pm and 5pm); friends; school; fruit; their father. Dilovan, who dreamt of being a footballer, was upset because he had no-one to play the beautiful game with. Newroz wanted to become a doctor; Beriwan, a lawyer or a journalist.
When I asked Mrs Ay why she did not abandon her fight to remain in the UK, she looked at me with a kind of sorrowful envy. 'I am terrified of what might happen to me and my children in Turkey,' she said, shaking her head.
The plight of the Ay family provoked outrage in Scotland. Church and union leaders, cross-party politicians, children's charities and human rights organisations condemned their treatment, arguing that it breached international law. Most tellingly, Anne Owers, the government's own Chief Inspector of Prisons, stated that children should be detained in exceptional circumstances only and for no more than a matter of days.
Pleas for them to be granted bail fell on deaf ears. Battered by a right-wing press, Home Secretary David Blunkett and then Immigration Minister Beverley Hughes, were determined to demonstrate that their government had a firm grip on this most controversial of political issues.
The Ay children were among their victims. Last week, they received the first bit of good news in their 15-year search for stability. Germany, the country which initially rejected the family's asylum application, has granted them on humanitarian ground temporary leave to remain based on the trauma the children suffered during their detention in the UK.
That detention was justified on the grounds that they were at risk of absconding. Yet, during the year in which their case has been processed in Germany they have enjoyed relative freedom. In other words, they were never at risk of absconding and, irrespective of the rights or wrongs of the case, they should never have been treated in such a disgusting way.
The Home Office, despite pressure from politicians and campaigners, won't release annual figures of asylum seeker children held in detention centres. Nor will they publish the length of time children are locked up. Only, less incriminating, the number of children detained on a particular date.
According to the charity Bail for Immigration Detainees, the only organisation to have carried out research into the detention of families, there has been a six-fold increase in the number of children detained.
Their experiences are rarely heard. But it is necessary to try to keep a light shining on their stories in the hope that some day soon the shameful and inhumane, not to mention expensive, policy of locking up vulnerable, traumatised children without limit of time is consigned to history.
STOP POLITICAL TERROR ACTION ALERT - EID BEHIND BARS
Please note you can also get the postcards from CAMPACC, please email: [email protected]
STOP POLITICAL TERROR ACTION ALERT
Stop Political Terror (SPT) in conjunction with East London Communities Against State Terror (ELCAST), CAMPACC, Stop the War Coalition, RESPECT, The 1990 Trust and Muslim Association of Britain (MAB) call for all Muslims and concerned individuals to write to the political prisoners this Eid.
While the Muslims mark the joyous occasion of Eid with family and friends, the Political Prisoners will celebrate Eid ALONE in their prison cells separated from their relatives and loved ones. Let them know that they have not been forgotten on this blessed day.
We hope to inundate the Muslim political prisoners with messages of support and encouragement, illuminating their cells with rays of hope and strengthening them with words of comfort.
Let us send them a clear message ? DEAR PRISONERS, WE ARE YOUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS AND WE WILL NOT ABANDON YOU WHEN YOU NEED US MOST.
Our action plan in brief is:
1. A half hour briefing will take place on Monday 8th November after Taraweeh prayers at approximately 9.30pm. Come to one of the collection points (see below) for instructions and collect our prisoner postcards, leaflets and other material. Cities outside London will be contacted separately.
We have produced 50,000 ?Eid Behind Bars? leaflets which we would like distributed next week. This contains details of prisoners held at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba and at Belmarsh and Woodhill Prisons in the UK. The SPT prisoner postcards (9 designs) are to be sold at 50p for one, or four for 1.50 pounds, or all nine for 3.00 pounds. Full details will be provided at the briefing.
7 Bridges Place, Parsons Green,
Nearest Tube: Parsons Green Tube Station
Nearest Tube: Whitechapel or Aldgate East
2. Request your local Mosque to put up the leaflet on the notice board now! Also inform as many key people as possible and rally support.
3. Ask your Imam/Mosque Committee for permission to set up a stall to distribute leaflets and sell postcards on Laylatul Qadr - the 27th night of Ramadan (Tuesday 9th November). If permission is granted, then ask the Mosque to make a short announcement about the stall during Taraweeh prayers. Ideally you will want a table to be set up at the exit (but not causing an obstruction).
If the Mosque does NOT grant permission, then we encourage you to set up a stall outside on the pavement. A plastering table can be purchased for as little as 10 pounds from your local DIY store. Alternatively, you may be able to borrow a table from the Mosque itself.
If, for whatever reason, you are unable to set up a stall then we ask you to at least hand out the leaflets after Taraweeh prayers and leave some in the Mosque.
Obviously, we encourage both brothers and sisters to participate in this Action Alert
Tel: 07910 474 102 More recent items of interest (9/11/04) 1. e d i n b u r g h e v e n i n g n e w s
2. A 17-year-old Black teenager suffered heavy bruising after being
subjected to an unprovoked racist attack by a gang of four men who punched
and kicked him to the ground after he left a bus in Edinburgh.
3. b b c n e w s
4. A pregnant Portuguese woman and her two-year-old son narrowly escaped
injury after their home in Portadown was targeted with a petrol bomb. The
attack is being treated as racially motivated by police.
5. b b c n e w s
High Court indicates unlawful killing verdict to be quashed
6. A High Court judge has indicated the inquest verdict of unlawful killing
into the death of Roger Sylvester, who died in 1999 after being restrained
by eight police officers, will be quashed after the police officers
7. b b c n e w s
Police officers given anonymity after shooting
8.Two police officers have been granted anonymity when they give evidence to
the inquest into the death of Black man Derek Bennett whom they shot in July
9. b b c n e w s
Home Office to install CCTV in asylum 'removal' vans
10. The Home Office has announced plans to install CCTV in vans carrying
failed asylum seekers to and from airports as a result of evidence detailing
the use of 'excessive or gratuitous force'.
11. b b c n e w s
Over 400 police staff reprimanded
12. Over 400 staff at Merseyside Police have been reprimanded for sending
inappropriate - including racist - emails at work.
13. b b c n e w s
Travellers win right to appeal decisions
A group of Travellers has won the right to take High Court action over plans
by South Cambridgeshire District Council to evict them from land in
Cottenham. Kenny Peter - another death by detention
Kenny Peter died on Sunday 7th November 2004 in Charing Cross Hospital. There is some dispute as to wether he is from Liberia or Nigeria, there is no dispute that he was seeking asylum in the UK.
Kenny had been in Colnbrook Removal Centre and was in the Health Care Unit on or about the 19th October. While in the care of the Home Office he made a serious suicide attempt on his own life. He was taken to a local hospital but transferred to Charing Cross Hospital as he had suffered severe brain damage. Despite the best care of staff at the hospital they were unable to sustain Kenny's life.
Kenny was given Temporary Admission in July this year but not allowed to work and had no access to benefits. He was detained by Immigration in early October for working in breach of his entry conditions.
No dignity in life, No dignity in death
NCADC contacted the Home Office Press Office (HOPO) for comment, but they refused even to confirm that Kenny Peter was deceased.
The HOPO have to date refused requests from NCADC for confirmation of the names and manner of deaths of two others who have recently died in removal centres.
Sergey Barnuyck , a Ukrainian , who allegedly died from selfharm in Harmondsworth Removal Centre on July the 19th 2004
Tung Wang, a Vietnamese, who also allegedly died from selfharm in Dungavel Removal Centre on July 24th 2004 .
NCADC would like to know if Kenny was on suicide watch as it is believed this was not his first attempt at selfharm. The standard response of the Home Office, that it does not comment on individual cases, is unacceptable. The deaths of people in their care is a matter of public concern, and if they refuse to respond to legitimate requests for information from concerned bodies such as NCADC , they should nonetheless put such information in the public domain.
Rosy Bremer from Bail for Immigration Detainees South, who work closely with detainees, and familiar with the case, on hearing of the death of Kenny said, "David Blunkett & Co. are directly responsible for this man's death'"
g u a r d i a n
Shooting coroner 'dismayed' by Met
At the inquest into the shooting of Derek Bennett in Brixton in 2001, the
coroner Selena Lynch accused the Metropolitan police of jeopardising the
integrity of the inquest process.
b b c n e w s
Racist graffiti painted on homes
Racist graffiti has been painted on homes and cars in the Queen Victoria
Gardens and Fortwilliam areas of North Belfast. Nuriye Kesbir: Dutch court bars Kurd extradition
BBC News Monday 8th November 2004
Kurds in the Netherlands have protested against the extradition plan
A Dutch court has blocked the extradition to Turkey of a Kurdish woman said to be a militant leader.
Nuriye Kesbir, alleged to belong to the separatist Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), is accused of organising attacks on military targets in the 1990s.
The Dutch justice ministry approved her handover in September after the supreme court ruled she could be extradited.
But a court in The Hague has said the Netherlands could not be sure she would receive a fair trial in Turkey.
The PKK, which is illegal in Turkey, wants an independent Kurdish state in south-eastern Turkey.
The Turkish authorities had said Ms Kesbir would be treated fairly and given a fair trial.
But the district court ruled on Monday that the justice ministry had overlooked several reports from the United Nations and other organisations which accused Turkish authorities of torturing Kurdish activists.
Ms Kesbir has always denied the charges of being involved in the attacks and claims she dealt only with women's issues as a member of the PKK's presidential council.
She was arrested after arriving in the Netherlands in September 2001. She was denied political asylum and has been fighting extradition proceedings since. Ms Kesbir has said she fears she will face an unfair trial and might be tortured if she returns to Turkey.
The Dutch justice ministry is reported to be considering an appeal against the district court's ruling.
Turkey has recently approved a range of human rights reforms as part of its efforts to achieve approval for EU membership.
Both France and Germany have confirmed they are in favour of opening talks with Turkey about EU membership, as recommended by a European Commission report last month.
Detention of Children Condemned again
Anne Owers the Chief Inspector of Prisons has published today Tuesday 9th November a report on her Inspection of Oakington Reception Centre in June of this year. At the time of her visit, 41 children under the age of 18 were being held, 15 had been in detention for one to four weeks. below are selected extracts chosen by NCADC
The *response to the report by Home Office Minister Des Browne, has not answered any of Anne Owers criticisms.
The UK government has still not ratified the 'UN Convention on the Rights of the Child', which would give more protection to children held in detention.
Report on an announced inspection of Oakington Immigration Reception Centre by the Chief Inspector of Prisons Anne Owers
"Oakington Immigration Reception Centre remained a largely safe and respectful environment, but procedures for managing more vulnerable detainees and safeguarding children were not sufficiently robust,"
However, since our last inspection, the population and function of Oakington had changed. In particular, it was holding detainees facing the prospect of imminent removal without a right of appeal: some of whom would be removed immediately after completion of the fast-track process. This had implications for security, vulnerability and the length of time detainees, including children, spent in the centre. The centre had paid attention to the security risks; but in our view had paid insufficient attention to the need for effective systems to manage the increased risk of suicide and self-harm; or to provide sufficient purposeful activity for longerstaying detainees.
The rate of absconds from the centre had risen dramatically during 2003, as detainees had little to lose, or much to fear. In order to prevent this, the centre's physical security had been increased and detainees thought to be abscond risks were moved into the secure Detainee Departure Unit (DDU) - a locked-down separation unit, with a limited regime. They shared this facility with detainees who were disruptive, and those at serious risk of suicide and self-harm. In addition, the unit was used as a temporary staging post for those being transferred to other centres or removed from the country. Both women and men could be held there.
In our view, the multiple functions of the DDU are incompatible and unsustainable. The regime is too restrictive for the great majority of those held there, who pose no threat to order or discipline; and who may be in a state of considerable anxiety or depression. The unit should not be used for the suicidal; and alternative means of managing those thought to be abscond risks should be developed. The dangers of not doing so were starkly apparent during our inspection, with a serious suicide attempt by a detainee facing removal, who was in the DDU only because of the suspicion that he might abscond.
More generally, we were not convinced that the procedures and mechanisms for identifying and supporting detainees at risk of self-harm were sufficiently well-developed to cope with the centre's current population. Much of the centre's safety depended upon the good and positive staff-detainee relationships; but these needed to be supported by robust systems.
We also found that the mechanisms for deciding to detain children, and reviewing their detention and developmental needs, were not sufficiently robust. Under IND's own instructions, the detention of children is always a sensitive matter and should be decided at senior level (by an Assistant Director). We saw no evidence of such authorisation, and indeed on-site staff appeared unaware of the need for it. . . . .
. . . . The instructions also require regard to be given to Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights: again, we saw no evidence that a balancing exercise between the necessity of detention and the welfare of the child had been carried out. The centre made conscientious attempts to identify and support children at risk of harm; but residential staff lacked the necessary qualifications, or support from social services. The concerns they did raise about children underline the need for independent review of a child's welfare and development after seven days, as we have previously recommended."
The full report should be available to download from:
However the Home Office is some times slow at placing documents on its website, so NCADC have placed a copy of the report with the Home Office press release @
Bail for Immigration Detainees (BID)
"HMIP's report shows that increasing numbers of children are being locked up in an environment where they fail to thrive, where social services are slow to respond to concerns, and where older children in particular are not receiving a full education. "
"We are still waiting for the system of welfare assessments at 21 days, promised in December 2003, to be put in place for all detained children."
BID have condemned the government's intention to expand the number of children detained by opening a new 286 bed family unit at Yarl's Wood at the end of this year.
The government's wide powers of immigration detention are endangering children and urgently need to be balanced by robust systems that place the child?s needs at the heart of decisions about them, detention charity.
Of 36 families who have contacted BID in the past 18 months, the average length of detention was 49 days, and the outcome of detention in the majority of cases (20 families) was released on temporary admission. In the 14 cases where the family were removed, the average length of detention was 43 days.
*Home Office response to HMCIP Report on Oakington Immigration Reception Centre
Statement by Des Browne: Home Office press release: Tuesday 9th November
"The report raises the issue of children in detention - detaining children is a sensitive matter. We believe that the mechanisms for detaining children and reviewing their detention at Oakington are dealt with sensitively and with priority. Family cases are highlighted and prioritised and any children in detention with families are closely monitored.
"We recognise the need to provide a comprehensive programme of activities throughout the day to occupy both adults and children and education classes are now provided for all school age children. We will review the current provision and take steps to ensure that the programme is promoted and detainees encouraged to participate."