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Home Office broke rules on handcuffing asylum seekers, says charity Home Office accused of breaking rules on cuffing asylum seekers
(34 minutes later)
The Home Office has been accused of breaching its guidelines on handcuffing asylum seekers in the wake of a controversy sparked by an 84-year-old man with dementia dying while shackled in a detention centre near Heathrow. The Home Office has been accused of breaching its guidelines on handcuffing asylum seekers, which were updated after an elderly man with dementia died while shackled in a detention centre near Heathrow.
The charity Women for Refugee Women has complained about restraints being used on female detainees at the Yarl’s Wood immigration removal centre in Bedford. The charity Women for Refugee Women has complained about the use of restraints on female detainees at the Yarl’s Wood immigration removal centre in Bedford.
The charity says detainees are being asked to wear handcuffs to chain them to a security guard for visits to a local hospital. In a letter to the Home Office, it says the measure is humiliating to women who are not prisoners, and could be unlawful.The charity says detainees are being asked to wear handcuffs to chain them to a security guard for visits to a local hospital. In a letter to the Home Office, it says the measure is humiliating to women who are not prisoners, and could be unlawful.
Related: Death in shackles of elderly man stopped at Gatwick 'shameful' Last month the prisonombudsman issued a report on the death in 2013 of 84-year-old Alois Dvorzac at Harmondsworth immigration removal centre, saying the circumstances were “wholly unacceptable”. Dvorzac had been detained at Gatwick airport on his way from Canada to Slovenia and was held for two weeks before he died of a heart attack.
The complaint comes weeks after the prison ombudsman said the death of elderly Alois Dvorzac at Harmondsworth immigration removal centre was a “wholly unacceptable” and “shameful” end to his life. Dvorzac had been detained at Gatwick airport on his way from Canada to Slovenia and was held for two weeks before dying of a heart attack. Home Office rules on use of handcuffs were radically changed following Dvorzac’s death. The default position is not to use them unless a risk assessment shows restraints are warranted. The Home Office says the use of restraints during escorted visits must be considered only when it is “necessary, reasonable and proportionate”.
Home office rules on handcuffs were radically changed following Dvorzac’s death in 2013. The default position is not to use them unless a risk assessment shows restraints are warranted. The Home Office said the use of restraints during escorted visits must only be considered when it is “necessary, reasonable and proportionate”. A Yarl’s Wood detainee has told the Guardian that this policy appears to have changed in the past month. Binta, from Guinea, who came to the UK as the 16-year-old bride of a 53-year-old white British man, hasbeen held at the detention centre for a year. She has been taken to hospital in Bedford regularly because she is HIV-positive, and on the last occasion was asked to wear restraints. She refused, and as a consequence missed a colposcopy examination for cervical cancer.
A Yarl’s Wood detainee has told the Guardian that this policy appears to have changed in the past month. Binta, from Guinea – who came to the UK as the 16-year-old bride of a 53-year-old white British man – has been held at the detention centre for a year.
She has been taken to hospital in Bedford regularly because she is HIV-positive but on the last occasion was asked to wear restraints. She refused and missed a colposcopy examination for cervical cancer.
“Why should I be in handcuffs, I am not a prisoner,” she said. “I am not going to go out there into the town and have people see me in handcuffs. If I do, everybody will look at me and think ‘you are a criminal’. The hospital is in the city centre.”“Why should I be in handcuffs, I am not a prisoner,” she said. “I am not going to go out there into the town and have people see me in handcuffs. If I do, everybody will look at me and think ‘you are a criminal’. The hospital is in the city centre.”
She said she has spoken to six other women at Yarl’s Wood who were asked to wear cuffs in the past month while being escorted to hospital, two of whom have given the Guardian written statements. She said she had spoken to six other women at Yarl’s Wood who had been asked to wear cuffs in the past month while being escorted to hospital, two of whom have given the Guardian written statements.
Binta suspects she is being targeted by security officers because she supported the “Shut down Yarl’s Wood” protests in the summer. The charity organising the protests delivered Freedom Now T-shirts to detainees and she said one of the security guards ordered her not to wear hers.Binta suspects she is being targeted by security officers because she supported the “Shut down Yarl’s Wood” protests in the summer. The charity organising the protests delivered Freedom Now T-shirts to detainees and she said one of the security guards ordered her not to wear hers.
About 1,500 people assembled at Yarl’s Wood on Saturday demanding that the government close its doors and release the detainees.About 1,500 people assembled at Yarl’s Wood on Saturday demanding that the government close its doors and release the detainees.
“A number of the women say they have refused to go to hospital in handcuffs because it is humiliating and unjustified, but they are concerned about missing important appointments and checkups if this policy continues,” said Women for Refugee Women in its complaint.“A number of the women say they have refused to go to hospital in handcuffs because it is humiliating and unjustified, but they are concerned about missing important appointments and checkups if this policy continues,” said Women for Refugee Women in its complaint.
Related: Yarl’s Wood is symptomatic of Britain’s paranoia about migrants | Ellie Mae O’Hagan
“According to the Home Office’s own policy, it is clearly not acceptable for handcuffs to be used across the board, and we are extremely concerned that this practice is making the prospect of hospital appointments so distressing that women are refusing to go.”“According to the Home Office’s own policy, it is clearly not acceptable for handcuffs to be used across the board, and we are extremely concerned that this practice is making the prospect of hospital appointments so distressing that women are refusing to go.”
Heather Jones, who has been visiting Yarl’s Wood for 13 years, said she is concerned about the apparent change in policy at the detention centre run by Serco. Related: Yarl’s Wood is symptomatic of Britain’s paranoia about migrants | Ellie Mae O’Hagan
Heather Jones, who has been visiting Yarl’s Wood for 13 years, said she was concerned about the apparent change in policy at the detention centre, which is run by Serco.
“My impression over the years is that handcuffs were not used and that it would be very exceptional if they were. That seems to have changed very recently, within the last few weeks,” she said.“My impression over the years is that handcuffs were not used and that it would be very exceptional if they were. That seems to have changed very recently, within the last few weeks,” she said.
The Home Office said that “following the death of Alois Dvorzak, the approach to the use of handcuffs during immigration detention changed significantly”. It added that it had recently commissioned an independent review of the practice. The Home Office said: “Following the death of Alois Dvorzak, the approach to the use of handcuffs during immigration detention changed significantly.” It added that it had recently commissioned an independent review of the practice.