Home Office ordered to review policy on torture survivors – The Guardian

‘Hundreds of asylum seekers who are detained in UK immigration centres could be released after a high court judge ordered the government to review its policy on incarcerated torture survivors.’

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The Guardian, 21st November 2016

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Torture evidence ignored by Home Office, says charity – BBC News

Posted November 21st, 2016 in asylum, evidence, news, torture by sally

‘The Home Office is “disregarding and mistreating” medical evidence of torture in UK asylum claims, a report by a charity suggests.’

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BBC News, 21st November 2016

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Syrian’s conviction for using false passport in asylum claim quashed – The Guardian

Posted October 14th, 2016 in appeals, asylum, news, possession of false identity documents by sally

‘A Syrian refugee has successfully appealed against his conviction for using false documents to claim asylum in the UK after spending six months in prison.’

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The Guardian, 13th October 2016

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Senior judge questions policy of removing court funding while raising fees – The Guardian

Posted September 21st, 2016 in asylum, costs, fees, immigration, judges, news by sally

‘Lord Justice Jackson, the senior judge who shaped key legal reforms, has questioned the government’s policy of imposing steep rises in fees while withdrawing public funding of the court system. In a detailed legal work, entitled The Reform of Civil Litigation, the appeal court judge added his voice to the chorus of criticism from human rights groups and lawyers’ representative bodies who argue that the rises put access to justice beyond the reach of many citizens.’

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The Guardian, 21st September 2016

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Asylum seeker allowed to remain in Britain after plea by MP is finally facing deportation after being jailed for sex attack – Daily Telegraph

Posted September 15th, 2016 in asylum, crime, deportation, immigration, news, sentencing, sexual offences by sally

‘An asylum seeker who was allowed to remain in Britain after an MP campaigned for him to stay is finally facing deportation after being jailed for a sex attack.’

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Daily Telegraph, 14th September 2016

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

How to tell a shining knight of a lawyer from an ambulance chaser? – The Guardian

Posted August 17th, 2016 in armed forces, asylum, law firms, legal aid, news, public interest by sally

‘The question takes us straight to this week’s reported news that Phil Shiner’s Public Interest Lawyers is having to close.’

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The Guardian, 16th August 2016

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Eritrean asylum seeker wins age assessment case in High Court – Local Government Lawyer

Posted August 17th, 2016 in asylum, children, news by sally

‘Leicestershire social workers incorrectly assessed an Eritrean asylum seeker as an adult when he was in fact still a minor, the High Court has ruled.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 16th August 2016

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Escaping “the jungle” must be done in an orderly manner – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted August 9th, 2016 in appeals, asylum, children, human rights, news, proportionality by sally

‘Four asylum seekers, namely three unaccompanied minors and one disabled adult, were in “the jungle” – the (increasingly permanent) temporary refugee and migrant camp in Calais – since October 2015. Having fled from war-torn Syria, they were trying to join their siblings in the UK. The problem was that the French system for processing asylum claims under EU rules would involve considerable delays and the evidence showed that the conditions in the camp were wholly inadequate: these children experienced physical violence and their medical needs were unmet. So they ignored the EU rules and issued a claim in the UK.’

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UK Human Right Blog, 8th August 2016

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

New Home Office API on Gay Asylum Claims: Not Fit For Purpose – Free Movement

‘The new Asylum Policy Instruction on Sexual Orientation Issues in the Asylum Claim, published last Wednesday, marks an unwelcome retrograde step for the Home Office, which still continues to apply the ‘voluntary discretion test’ to gay asylum claims, even though this has been held to be unlawful, as a matter of EU law, since July 2015. Having made positive strides with respect to the quality of decision-making since the public outcry over the sexually explicit methods of questioning gay asylum seekers in February 2014, in August 2016 this API will lead to sub-standard and unlawful decisions by the Home Office, and arguably Courts and Tribunals who rely on the API, leading to devastating outcomes to those returned to countries where they will suffer persecution.’

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Free Movement, 8th August 2016

Source: www.freemovement.org.uk

Home Office wins Syrian refugee appeal in Court of Appeal – BBC News

Posted August 3rd, 2016 in appeals, asylum, children, EC law, news by sally

‘The Home Office has won an appeal against a landmark ruling allowing four Syrian refugees living in Calais’ so-called Jungle camp to come to Britain.’

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BBC News, 2nd August 2016

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Former British judo champion jailed for attempting to smuggle Albanian asylum seekers into UK – The Independent

Posted July 29th, 2016 in asylum, news, sentencing, trafficking in human beings by sally

‘A former judo champion who represented Great Britain has been jailed for attempting to smuggle Albanian migrants into the UK.’

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The Independent, 29th July 2016

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Migrant children are being failed by UK, says Lords committee report – The Guardian

Posted July 26th, 2016 in asylum, children, detention, immigration, news, refugees, reports, select committees by sally

‘The UK is shirking its responsibility to care for thousands of unaccompanied migrant children, dismissing them as “somebody else’s problem”, a report has concluded.’

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The Guardian, 26th July 2016

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Should asylum seekers take action to avoid persecution on the ground of political opinion incorrectly attributed to them? – UK Human Rights Blog

‘The Court of Appeal dismissed the Secretary of State’s appeal challenging the Upper Tribunal’s decision that MSM would have been at risk on return to Somalia on the ground of political opinion. Exceptionally, the court went on to consider the modification of conduct issue in relation to imputed political opinion on an obiter basis, which gave rise to interesting analysis.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 22nd July 2016

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

Council uses Article 4 direction to evict Asylum seekers in HMO – Local Government Lawyer

Posted July 22nd, 2016 in asylum, housing, local government, news by sally

‘The London Borough of Bexley has ended the unlawful use of a house by a Home Office approved accommodation provider dealing with asylum seekers.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 20th July 2016

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

The Human Right Not To Hide. Celebrating The Anniversary Of A Landmark LGBTQ Case – RightsInfo

‘Six years ago tomorrow [7 July], the UK Supreme Court said that gay people should not have to hide their sexuality in order to avoid persecution in their home country.’

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RightsInfo, 6th July 2016

Source: www.rightsinfo.org

We Need To Talk About…Abu Qatada – RightsInfo

‘In the first of an occasional series, we discuss a controversial human rights case and argue that there is another side to the way the case was reported.’

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RightsInfo, 7th July 2016

Source: www.rightsinfo.org

How Abdul Haroun was prosecuted despite rules to protect refugees – The Guardian

Posted June 23rd, 2016 in asylum, news, prosecutions, railways, refugees, sentencing by sally

‘Abdul Haroun’s case for asylum was seemingly deemed so overwhelming that within 24 hours of being interviewed by Home Office officials he was granted it.’

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The Guardian, 22nd June 2016

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

What is the legal meaning of “refugee”? – Free Movement

Posted June 23rd, 2016 in asylum, freedom of movement, immigration, news, refugees, treaties by sally

‘This week is Refugee Week. The Free Movement blog is about communicating complex legal issues in immigration and asylum law in a clear way and I thought it would be a good time to put together a short blog post explaining what a refugee actually is in legal terms and to collect together some of our previous blog posts about asylum issues. I hope you find it useful and interesting!’

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Free Movement, 22nd June 2016

Source: www.freemovement.org.uk

Myth buster: memories of trauma are engraved on the brain – Free Movement

Posted June 22nd, 2016 in asylum, immigration, mental health, news, psychiatric damage, refugees by sally

‘We tend to believe that the more important an experience, the more likely it is that it will be “engraved” on the brain. In the asylum system, this is maintained by decision makers who maintain the belief that a genuine victim of trauma will be particularly able to recall the traumatic event.’

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Free Movement, 21st June 2016

Source: www.freemovement.org.uk

Home Office loses test case on asylum seekers ‘who look 18 or older’ – The Guardian

Posted June 20th, 2016 in asylum, children, detention, evidence, immigration, local government, news, statistics by sally

‘A test case judgment has been handed down in the high court preventing the Home Office from detaining child asylum seekers just because officials think they look 18 or older.’

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The Guardian, 20th June 2016

Source: www.guardian.co.uk