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Glasgow: Charity locks-out refused refugees

housing protest

In the last week, at least five refugees refused asylum have come home to find they have been locked-out, their locks changed by their landlord, Scottish charity YPeople.

This is despite assurances made by YPeople Chief Executive Joe Connolly at a meeting with City Councillors and support groups that no-one would be locked out, and that eviction proceedings would not commence until mid-June at the earliest. Latest news is that, following protests, YPeople have allowed at least two of those evicted back in to their flats.

Around 100 people are facing eviction in the coming weeks, suddenly adding to the growing numbers of destitute refugees in the city. The landlord, Scottish Charity YPeople (YMCA Glasgow), has ended it's 'no eviction' policy in advance of the transfer of the UKBA housing contract to Serco, a global company running prisons and immigration detention centres. Read more here

New look NCADC website

If you are a regular user of the NCADC web resources, you may have noticed some changes. We have introduced a new framework that we hope will make the website more accessible, easier to read, navigate and use. Some of our webpages haven't been moved to the new layout yet, but we're getting there. As ever, we welcome your feedback, so please get in touch with any comments and suggestions on the new style and layout.

You can keep up with NCADC news by email, on Facebook, with Twitter and on our Blog. We also maintain Country of Origin information resources to help people seeking leave to remain or fighting removal from the UK.

Campaigning Toolkit

We are close to launching a Campaiging Toolkit which will be a comprehensive resource built on 15 years of NCADC experience, and with input from many of our members and partner organisations. Look out for news of this soon, or have a sneak preview of the text for chapters on detention or fresh claims over at the Blog.

Police torture in Sri Lanka

In this film several victims talk about their experience of torture by the Sri Lankan police and the continuing ordeals they suffer, psychologically and socially due to this torture. All of them state that their arrests were baseless and that after their arrest the police tortured them even before asking any questions at all. Source: Asia Human Rights Commission

Afghanistan: stop the deportations

Kabul refugee campReuters reports that intensifying violence as NATO combat troops prepare to leave by end-2014 and a poor economic outlook in the face of shrinking aid could spell a humanitarian disaster for Afghanistan. Even in the capital Kabul, there are 35,000 internal refugees living in 30 makeshift camps. Amnesty International says 400 Afghans become internally displaced every day, and the organization predicts this number will swell.

Despite this growing crisis, the UK government seems intent on deporting more and more refugees to the camps in Kabul. Recent attempts to send back dozens of refugees by specially chartered flights have been thwarted by the security situation, and the Border Agency has now reported that all flights are off until at least 22 May, with Kabul airport closed. Afghanistan is not safe, and aid agencies cannot cope with the growing numbers in the camps. The UK government should call a halt to all removal attempts, and release Afghans from detention now.

Campaign update: Afghan detainees

Popal, Nasib and other Afghans released from detention as security situation deteriorates

Kabul campPopal Nazeri and Nasib Noor are two young Afghan men who have been detained while awaiting deportation from the UK. NCADC has been supporting their campaigns for justice, and we are pleased to report that both have recently been released from detention. 'T', another young Afghan who has been writing a very moving blog about his experiences in detention, has happily also been released. The granting of bail has followed the cancellation of scheduled charter flights to Afghanistan on 17 April and 6 May, and the closure of Kabul airport from 7 to 22 May. Read the campaign update here.

Unlawful detention

Free Movement blog, 9 May
There has been a flood of judgments in the last few weeks on the issue of unlawful detention. With immigration detention used more frequently and for longer periods than ever before, the aftermath of the secret and unlawful presumption of detention policy and the ongoing travails of the UK Border Agency, it seems likely that many more such judgments will be seen in the coming months. Read more

Children detained
in degrading conditions

The Guardian, 14 May
The Heathrow independent monitoring board (IMB) says children of all ages are being detained at the airport for immigration purposes almost every day, and are sometimes kept overnight. They are held in rooms that are small, stuffy and have no natural light. There is no access to the open air, no sleeping accommodation and only hand basins for washing. They often share space with unrelated adults and can be held in these conditions for many hours. Read article

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