Media Release, 04/08/03, 00:00
>From Cambridgeshire Against Refugee Detention
For Immediate Release

LOCAL SOLIDARITY FOR REFUGEE PROTESTS AT OAKINGTON AGAINST ILLEGAL DETENTION

Cambridge residents will protest at the gates of Oakington Refugee
Detention Centre today at 9.30am. The protest will support action by
refugees in the centre, who have been protesting against their illegal
detention.

In some cases refugees have been imprisoned for over two months, well
beyond the 7 to 10 day limit for detention at Oakington. They are also
protesting against improper process used to assess their claims for asylum.

The refugees have been on hunger strike, have had sit down protests, have
refused to be counted at muster, and are planning further action today.

David Babbs, office worker living on Mill Road, said: "These people aren´t
being treated fairly, and they´re not being listened to. This is happening
on our doorstep. We wanted to come and show our support."

For more information, phone 07931 855888 and see www.closeoakington.org

Notes for editors

1. Over 1500 people are detained in the UK at any time under asylum and
immigration legislation. Most detainees are held for poorly-defined and
often unspecified reasons other than "administrative convenience".

2. Oakington is the centrepiece of the "fast-track" asylum system.
Asylum-seekers sent there have had their claims judged "manifestly
unfounded" on the strength of their ethnicity, or an often arbitrary
decision by immigration officials. There is no automatic right to a bail
hearing, and little judicial oversight. Children, babies and pregnant women
are among those detained. Detainees are not suspected of any crime. Most
detainees are held for poorly-defined and often unspecified reasons other
than "administrative convenience".

3. Detention is an expensive and potentially damaging alternative to proper
medical, legal and financial support in open accommodation. The British
Medical Association has stated that detention is inherently undesirable,
especially in the case of vulnerable groups.