An asylum seeker who was jailed in Iran for his human rights campaigning says he has not been able to sleep since receiving a notice that he is being moved to the Bibby Stockholm barge and said it would be another “jail” for him.
The man, who cannot be named for security reasons, worked as a human rights lawyer and campaigner in Iran and was imprisoned for his anti-government activities. He managed to escape from Iran and claimed asylum on arrival in the UK several months ago, citing political persecution in his home country.
The Home Office initially accommodated him in a hotel on the south coast but then issued him with a letter saying he was going to be moved to the controversial Bibby Stockholm barge in Portland, Dorset.
Concerns have been raised about use of the barge for asylum seekers, including over fire safety, overcrowding and threats from the far right. It is understood that the first group of asylum seekers are due to be moved on to the barge on Monday.
The man said: “While I’m living in the hotel, I can go outside and have a walk in the fresh air. I also have support from the community. I was shocked when I received a letter about a week ago from the Home Office telling me I was being sent to the Bibby Stockholm barge. We have seen the news about this barge. It is a kind of jail.”
He said he had been very stressed since receiving the letter and had been unable to sleep because of his fear of what would happen to him and other asylum seekers if they were taken to the barge.
“I know of at least nine people in my hotel who got this letter. Everyone who received it is really upset and sad,” he said.
The Home Office letter, signed by the alternative accommodation team, states that accommodation is changing to the Bibby Stockholm barge and while people will not be detained on the barge, they will need to sign in and out when they leave and return to the barge “so we can assure your safety”.
The asylum seeker said he and others who had received the letter were most concerned about safety on the vessel.
Steve Smith, the chief executive of the refugee charity Care4Calais, which is supporting some of the asylum seekers who have received letters saying they are going to be moved to Bibby Stockholm, said: “Amongst those we are supporting are the survivors of torture, people with disabilities and people who have experienced trauma at sea. Housing any human on a ‘floating prison’ like the Bibby Stockholm is unacceptable. Doing so to people like this is completely inhumane. It is causing a huge amount of anxiety.”
The asylum seeker said: “I know when other asylum seekers get letters from the Home Office saying they are being sent to Napier barracks in Folkestone, they are told how long they will stay there for. This letter gives us no information. We have no idea how long we will be kept on the barge for. We have read things about how the boat will not be safe for us. On the boat we will be out of the community.
“I worked as a human rights lawyer in Iran and I believe this plan by the Home Office is against human rights. Normal people would not go and live there. When I was in jail in Iran, I had a really hard time. All I want to do here is live a normal life, do positive things and be part of society.”
