On 24-25 December 2012, 40 detainees in Morton Hall Immigration Removal Centre (IRC) protested against their treatment and conditions: including racist abuse, frequent beatings by up to 6 guards against one prisoner, sub-standard food and money sent in going missing. As a punishment for a fight between two detainees, the water supply was cut off, meaning that toilets could not be flushed and prisoners were not able to take showers.
Assaults against detainees in IRCs have led to deaths such as that in October 2012 in Harmondsworth IRC of Prince Ofosu. The Home Office and private security firm GEO, who are contracted to run the centre, refused to release any details, but an anonymous member of staff released a joint statement with detainees detailing how Prince was forcibly restrained and subjected to ‘massive blows’ from a member of staff who was instructed to hide evidence by removing his blood-stained clothes. Prince, who was reportedly on hunger strike at the time of his death, is the 7th detainee to die in Harmondsworth.
FRFI is in contact with detainees in several IRCs. Many in Morton Hall report that the staff there are even more aggressive than those in Harmondsworth or Colnbrook, even though the latter is the most secure IRC in England.
Protest in Morton Hall
As FRFI goes to press, 2 men in Morton Hall have just ended a 10-day protest hunger-strike against their detention. Moroccan man Laraby and Italian-Somali Mohamed Sheik received a lot of support from other detainees. Laraby has now been moved to Harmondsworth, presumably to isolate him from this support.
Despite his European citizenship, 23-year-old Mohamed has been detained by the United Kingdom Border Agency (UKBA) for a year, having served a 9-month term in prison. He was not given any proper indication of this lengthy detention period and no attempts were made to deport him to Somalia. A recent bail application was denied on the grounds that Mohamed’s brother was in prison in Britain; which had no legal bearing on the application. Mohamed’s hunger strike at least compelled the authorities to address his situation, although their response was that he will not be granted bail in this country, but instead will be deported to Italy. This means that his solicitor has had to withdraw his judicial review and case against UKBA for unlawful detention. Mohamed has now been served with a deportation order.
Fighting deportation
The fight to free Said Kasim, a Somali of Bajuni descent,* continues after his latest application for bail was refused on 12 December. Said attended the hearing at Hatton Cross Immigration and Appeal Tribunal with supporters from Hands off Somalia and Fight Racism! Fight Imperialism! His solicitor did not attend and Said had to represent himself; the solicitors also say they were unaware of the last attempt to deport Said in September 2012. In the absence of any outside legal assistance, Said has now lodged a judicial review with the help of another prisoner. New removal orders are currently in place for 29 January, although hopefully these will be cancelled. UKBA wants to deport Said to Tanzania, a country with which he has no connection. The Tanzanian High Commission in London refuses to hold an interview to verify UKBA’s claims concerning Said.
Ali is also of Bajuni descent. Fourteen years ago, aged 20, he fled Somalia to Kenya after the murder of his father and brother. No safer there, he fled again, this time to London, where he enrolled in college, but subsequently became homeless and slept rough for 3 years. Out of desperation and frustration at being unable to find housing and employment, Ali started dealing drugs and re-enrolled into college: ‘I’d rather do this and get shelter’. He was soon caught and sent to prison, where he continued to seek education in prison and focused on Islamic studies. In 2007 he was moved to HMP Guys Marsh where he became an imam and trusted figure amongst inmates. This soon caught the attention of guards and Ali was moved again after being tricked by prison officers who told him he was to be released. He was actually being deported. However, the deportation did not take place and Ali was taken to HMP Dorchester despite the fact that he had completed his sentence. Ali is one of countless non-British prisoners who are made to serve extra months, even years, for no reason other than their immigration status.
In HMP Dorchester, Ali was approached by MI5 and questioned about other imams and Muslim figures. 9 months later, he was moved yet again, this time to Colnbrook, where Said Kasim is currently detained. After another failed attempt at deportation, he was finally released in 2010, subject to curfew, electronic tagging and a requirement to sign on every week.
Despite having the drive to build a life for himself, Ali remains in an enforced limbo: ‘We’re struggling hard. I could go out there and work for myself. We want to work for ourselves. We weren’t given the chance.’
Ali awaits a full immigration hearing in February. On 11 January Ali’s friends and supporters from Hands off Somalia and Fight Racism! Fight Imperialism attended a pre-hearing with him, where they were greeted with hostility and excluded from the court room. This will not prevent us from providing continued support at future hearings.
Supporting immigration detainees in their struggles against imprisonment and deportation is a vital part of the struggle against racism and imperialism. Contact FRFI if you want to participate in this work with us.
Nazia Mukti
* The Bajuni people are an ethnic minority in Somalia and other east African countries. See www.revolutionarycommunist.org/index.php/fight-racism/2697-free-said-kasim-mohammed for more details on Said’s case.
