Nepali asylum seekers allege “physical abuse” during removal attempt
Article published: Tuesday, July 26th 2011
Two Manchester-based Nepali asylum seekers, Govinda Pokharel and Jamuna Rijal, have alleged they were beaten by private security guards contracted to the UK Border Agency (UKBA) during an attempt to remove them from the country last Wednesday 20 July.
Supporters say Pokharel was repeatedly punched on the neck and abdomen while handcuffed, hit with another pair of handcuffs and subjected to verbal abuse by members of an eight-strong security team employed by Reliance Secure Task Management Ltd when he attempted to resist removal on a 10am Gulf Air flight. The couple were returned to Yarl’s Wood Immigration Removal Centre following protests from the plane’s pilot and further removal attempts have been scheduled for within the next 24 hours.
Pokharel was left “badly bruised” and “swollen” by the incident according to Harry Pritchard, minister at Coverdale Baptist Church in Ardwick, who visited the detainee the day after the incident. The couple converted to Christianity in April last year and since arrival in Manchester had been regular attendees at the church. Pritchard told Mule a complaint had been made to the UKBA and the Independent Monitoring Board, and that the matter was under investigation.
Pritchard further claimed that a Serco medical team had taken photographs of the injuries but that the images were of “such poor quality” it may be difficult for them to be used as future evidence. He added that he had been forbidden from taking his own photographs as the use of cameras and mobile phones at the centre are prohibited by standard security regulations.
A new removal flight at Heathrow for Pokharel has been arranged for 22:05 tonight, Tuesday 26 June. Rijal, who is 17 weeks pregnant, is due to be removed tomorrow at 15:00. The couple were detained and issued removal directions following the rejection of asylum claims first made late last year.
Pokharel and Rijal say they came to the UK due to intimidation by a Nepali armed group named the Madheshi Virus Killer Party (MVKP). Pokharel, who was a member of the Communist Party of Nepal, says the group attempted to force him to join them and extort large sums of money including 60 per cent of Rijal’s wage as a nurse. Following a complaint to the police eight members of the group were arrested and one killed.
In retaliation threats were made against themselves and their families, prompting them to flee first to Kathmandu and then to Britain. They arrived in the UK in August 2009 on a student nursing visa valid until 2012, but claimed asylum at a later date on the advice of a retired immigration official. The couple say they were not aware until then that claiming asylum was an option for their circumstances.
Since then their claim has been refused on the grounds that the MVKP is not active in Kathmandu, although the couple dispute this and say Pokharel’s younger brother was followed to the city and badly beaten by the group. Three weeks ago the brother was abducted and this morning they were informed that his body had been found. Campaigners are attempting to submit a fresh claim for asylum on this new evidence, and are asking supporters to urgently contact the Home Office and request that the flight be delayed.
A UKBA spokesperson said: “the UK Border Agency would prefer that those with no legal basis to remain in the UK leave voluntarily. Where they do not we will seek to enforce their removal.
“We expect the highest standards of integrity and behaviour from our staff and contractors. We take all allegations of mistreatment seriously and report such allegations to the appropriate authorities, including the police for alleged assaults, as a matter of routine.
“Detainees who are not satisfied with the way in which their complaint has been handled may ask for it to be reviewed by the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman.”
The allegations come weeks following an Amnesty International report condemning the reported “dangerous and improper use of force” in the removals process. The report documented “serious failings in the training of private contractors conducting forced removals”, including reports of people being struck on the neck, dropped down aircraft stairs and strangled, leading the charity to demand “a complete and radical overhaul and reform of the current system”.
In particular, Amnesty singled out “long standing concerns over the accountability and conduct of private security companies”, and recommended that the government enforce adequate training and consider the use of its own personal to conduct removals. The human rights charity also called for “independent monitoring of forced returns”, noting that “the monitoring which does take place is neither independent nor comprehensive”.
In April this year the contract to carry out removals was transferred to Reliance following the death of Angolan asylum seeker Jimmy Mubenga after being restrained while in G4S custody in October 2010, with Amnesty noting that “it is understood that Reliance underbid G4S for provision of these services”. In response to the report the managing director of Reliance, Seb Stuart, stated that “the Home Office sets policy in this area and at this moment I do not wish to comment”.
Immigration minister Damien Green further said that while safety regulations were of a “high standard”, the government was “conducting a fundamental review of the restraint techniques used on aircraft to see if they can be made safer”.
Richard Goulding
You can find more information on the “Save Govinda and Jamuna” campaign here
More: Migration and asylum, News
Comments
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Shocking that private security firms can act with such impunity. This country should be a place of refuge for people fleeing from persecution, not somewhere they should fear for their safety. I’ve contact my local MP (Tony Lloyd) to ask what he’s going to do to ensure an investigation but not heard back anything just yet.
Comment by Peter Hicks on July 27, 2011 at 9:45 am -
I’ve heard that Gerald Kaufman has said he will give support, but his famous attitude to the ConDems may mean he won’t get listened to.
However he’s a canny politician who should realise that blaming the government for his “not being heard” won’t wash in the long term.
Comment by Steve Donson on July 29, 2011 at 12:32 pm -
As you mention that Govinda Pokharel and Jamuna Rijal were allegedly beaten by private security guards I find it odd that you go on to quote Amnesty without mentioning that it is a private organisation.
As Amnesty is a private organisation why should anyone trust anything it says?
I prefer to trust the UKBA. It is mainly staffed with public employees and therefore is much, much more trusworthy than any private organisation.
Comment by simon on August 4, 2011 at 1:56 am -
In actual fact the strong arming seems to be done by an organisation called Reliance Security- see http://staging.reliance.mwdev.co.uk/government-services/immigration/case-studies/ukba/
I guess they got the contract when Securicor/ Group 4 became too “hot” after the way they carried on.
See http://noborderswales.org.uk/category/group-4-security/and
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/a-disturbing-insight-into-g4ss-tactics-2120498.htmlSee http://www.thelondoneveningpost.com/africa/revealed-how-failed-asylum-seekers-are-being-tortured-in-british-prison/ for more alegations about this continuing.
Now I find G4S policing the local public library- so watch out you don’t spend too long on the computers or talk too loudly!
Comment by Steve Donson on August 4, 2011 at 3:58 pm
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