Skip Nav | Home | Mobile | Editorial Guidelines | Mission Statement | About Us | Contact | Help | Security | Support Us

World

Tinsley House IRC blockaded by protesters 07:00 today

Stop Deportation | 17.03.2009 07:49 | Migration | Social Struggles | Workers' Movements | Birmingham | World

Anti-deportation campaigners are risking arrest to stop the collective expulsion of approximately 50 Iraqi refugees from the UK. Campaigners have locked themselves to the gate of Tinsley House detention centre at Gatwick airport, where some of the deportees are being held, in an attempt to prevent the forcible deportation.

A special deportation charter flight is scheduled to leave Stanstead airport to Iraqi Kurdistan (northern Iraq) later today. If it went ahead, this will be the eighth time in the last eight months that people have been deported to Iraq by charter flight.

Unlike many other European countries, the UK government is refusing to ratify Protocol 4 to the European Convention on Human Rights, which prohibits the collective expulsion of foreigners.

One of the protesters, Brian Arcola, said: "Charter flights like this are the latest step in the government's macabre immigration policy. Aside from the ethical implications of handcuffing and deporting innocent people under the threat of the baton, by not telling them when they're going to be deported they deprive many people from adequate legal representation. If there's to be any truth in the claim that Britain is a tolerant, fair country, this has got to be stopped."

One of the deportees, whose real name cannot be used for his own security if he goes back to Iraq, said earlier on the phone: "I've been in the UK for nine years. I have a partner and an 18-month-old son. If I am deported, all this will be gone. I've made a life for myself here, living as everyone else does in this country, but I'm now being treated like I'm a criminal, imprisoned then deported." He added: "I left Iraq originally because my life was threatened by a radical Islamic group. That same group is now more powerful than they were before. I won't be safe, I won't be safe."

Another Iraqi refugees, who was deported last month and prefers to keep
anonymous, said: "I don't know when I'll see my partner or my daughter again. I speak to them in tears on the phone every night. I am still in shock after being sent back. I have had to change my name so I'm not targeted by the same people who threatened to kill me before. My entire world has caved in."


Notes:

1. Over 350 people have been deported by charter flights to the Kurdistan region of Iraq in the last six months. The Home Office argues that Kurdistan is 'safe' but recent deportees have committed suicide, been kidnapped and been killed in car bombs. It is particularly dangerous at the moment as political in-fighting intensifies in the run-up to the regional elections.

2. Details of previous charter flights can be found at:
 http://csdiraq.com/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1&limit=5&limitstart=5

 http://csdiraq.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=50&Itemid=1
 http://www.corporatewatch.org.uk/?lid=3208
 http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2008/mar/30/immigrationpolicy.immigration

 http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/dec/12/asylum-seekers-kurds

3. The Home Office has been chartering flights from companies including Hamburg International and Czech Airlines to deport people en masse. Deportees are not told the date or time of the flight‚s departure. In previous flights, people have been deported before their solicitors have had a chance to appeal or submit judicial reviews.

4. Each deportee is handcuffed and accompanied by two security guards. The total cost of the flights are unknown, though it is assumed to be significant. The Home Office constantly refuses to release such information as it may apparently be 'commercially sensitive'.

Stop Deportation
- e-mail: stopdeportation@riseup.net

Additions

Update and details

17.03.2009 10:12

Since 7:15 this morning 20 activists have been blocking the entrance to Tinsley House Immigration Detention centre. 6 activists are D-locked to eachother and are glued to the gates, which are completely blocked.

Activists have been chanting slogans which have been heard by detainees inside the detention center.


Police are on the scene looking confused.

NoBorders


Update #2

17.03.2009 13:45

1.20pm

There are now fewer people at the blockade.

Three or four protestors, who were in roles supporting those locked on, have been violently arrested under Section 69 of the Criminal Justice Act for failure to leave land after a warning (aggravated trespass).

Police are beginning to remove the six D-locked and superglued protestors.

Airport by-laws have been used to escort another group of protestors away from the area.

IMCista


from ncadc list

17.03.2009 13:48

Not only trouble on the outside, but apparently everyone inside
Tinsley is on hunger strike, due to changes in the meal system since
Brook House opened.

Basically, all meals are now cooked in the kitchens at Brook, and
then brought down the road to Tinsley.

However, this has meant that breakfast has been reduced to two pieces
of toast and one egg, which detainees are very unhappy with. They
also have to order their evening meal 48 hours in advance, so we've
been told, and the portion sizes are also smaller.

As a result, everyone has apparently got together and decided to
strike, although they did eat a meal last night. This has been going
on since yesterday morning. We've spoken to a few guys inside, and
they say that they're going to continue until things change. They
also know about the protests going on outside, which is adding to the
whole atmosphere, and we've also heard there are not many officers on
duty.

no borders


Those arrested have been taken to Crawley Police Station

17.03.2009 15:15

All (we think) those arrested have been taken to Crawley Police Station

support appreciated

supporter


Corporate Media reports of the Protest

17.03.2009 16:55

no borders no nations


Comments

Display the following 5 comments

  1. Well Done — Paddington bear
  2. brilliant — one of no borders
  3. nice one — bristol no borders
  4. thanks — ppl
  5. Well done! — Huguenot

Publish

Publish your news

Do you need help with publishing?

/regional publish include --> /regional search include -->

World Topics

Afghanistan
Analysis
Animal Liberation
Anti-Nuclear
Anti-militarism
Anti-racism
Bio-technology
Climate Chaos
Culture
Ecology
Education
Energy Crisis
Fracking
Free Spaces
Gender
Globalisation
Health
History
Indymedia
Iraq
Migration
Ocean Defence
Other Press
Palestine
Policing
Public sector cuts
Repression
Social Struggles
Technology
Terror War
Workers' Movements
Zapatista

Kollektives

Birmingham
Cambridge
Liverpool
London
Oxford
Sheffield
South Coast
Wales
World

Other UK IMCs
Bristol/South West
London
Northern Indymedia
Scotland

Server Appeal Radio Page Video Page Indymedia Cinema Offline Newsheet

secure Encrypted Page

You are viewing this page using an encrypted connection. If you bookmark this page or send its address in an email you might want to use the un-encrypted address of this page.

If you recieved a warning about an untrusted root certificate please install the CAcert root certificate, for more information see the security page.

IMCs


www.indymedia.org

Projects
print
radio
satellite tv
video

Africa

Europe
antwerpen
armenia
athens
austria
barcelona
belarus
belgium
belgrade
brussels
bulgaria
calabria
croatia
cyprus
emilia-romagna
estrecho / madiaq
galiza
germany
grenoble
hungary
ireland
istanbul
italy
la plana
liege
liguria
lille
linksunten
lombardia
madrid
malta
marseille
nantes
napoli
netherlands
northern england
nottingham imc
paris/île-de-france
patras
piemonte
poland
portugal
roma
romania
russia
sardegna
scotland
sverige
switzerland
torun
toscana
ukraine
united kingdom
valencia

Latin America
argentina
bolivia
chiapas
chile
chile sur
cmi brasil
cmi sucre
colombia
ecuador
mexico
peru
puerto rico
qollasuyu
rosario
santiago
tijuana
uruguay
valparaiso
venezuela

Oceania
aotearoa
brisbane
burma
darwin
jakarta
manila
melbourne
perth
qc
sydney

South Asia
india


United States
arizona
arkansas
asheville
atlanta
Austin
binghamton
boston
buffalo
chicago
cleveland
colorado
columbus
dc
hawaii
houston
hudson mohawk
kansas city
la
madison
maine
miami
michigan
milwaukee
minneapolis/st. paul
new hampshire
new jersey
new mexico
new orleans
north carolina
north texas
nyc
oklahoma
philadelphia
pittsburgh
portland
richmond
rochester
rogue valley
saint louis
san diego
san francisco
san francisco bay area
santa barbara
santa cruz, ca
sarasota
seattle
tampa bay
united states
urbana-champaign
vermont
western mass
worcester

West Asia
Armenia
Beirut
Israel
Palestine

Topics
biotech

Process
fbi/legal updates
mailing lists
process & imc docs
tech