Court of Appeal rules that Home Office discriminated against immigration detainees

Freedom from Torture welcomes the Judgement (handed down on 16 July 2019) which finds that the UK Home Office discriminated against detainees ASK and MDA, on grounds of their poor mental health and their inability to “engage in important decisions” relating to their continued detention.



The ruling validates our long-standing concerns about vulnerable people in the UK immigration detention estate. Working with torture survivors, we see the devastating impact of incarceration on those living with fragile mental health and trauma from past abuse.



This is yet another case that exposes the terrible human cost of the government’s inhumane immigration detention practices. The number of detainees on suicide watch grew by 5% in 2018 and there were an average of 41 incidents of self-harm recorded every month last year.



Urgent steps need to be taken to ensure the protection of vulnerable people with mental health conditions. The Home Office is failing, by its own policy, to identify and keep vulnerable people out of detention. Torture survivors should never be detained.



Read the full Judgement here.