For immediate release: April 17, 2010

SOLIDARITY DEMO AT OAKINGTON DETENTION CENTRE

WHAT: SOLIDARITY DEMONSTRATION
WHERE: OAKINGTON DETENTION CENTRE
WHEN: SUNDAY APRIL 18, 12 PM

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT CAMBRIDGE MIGRANT SOLIDARITY ON 07879972629

On Thursday morning, a detainee at Oakington Detention Centre died, having been refused medical attention throughout the previous day. Fellow detainees organised a protest; they broke through the gates of one of the centre’s compounds and occupied a courtyard. Riot police were brought in and the so-called ‘ringleaders’ of the protest were arrested.
Cambridge Migrant Solidarity believes that this death is the latest example of migrants’ appalling and inhumane treatment at Oakington, and across other detention centres in the country. They support the actions of the detainees inside the centre following this tragic event.
The police’s reaction and excessive use of force show that the authorities are more concerned with criminalising migrants, than listening to their legitimate anger over their treatment and detention conditions.
An organiser of the demonstration, Jess Savage, said: “It is outrageous that the British government detains migrants, sometimes for months on end, without even giving them proper medical attention. Another death in Oakington is one too many: the centre should be shut immediately and the migrants should be let free. They are not criminals, they are human beings fleeing poverty, torture and violent conflict.”

Notes for Editors

1. Oakington, run by the private security company G4S, was branded the second-worst facility the country by the UK Border Agency in January 2008.
2. Cambridge Migrant Solidarity is a group of local students and residents who oppose the detention of migrants, and campaign locally to raise awareness about the issues surrounding the treatment of migrants.
ENDS