Many asylum seekers may have been subjected to inhuman and degrading treatment at Manston holding facility in Kent, according to a report.
A seven-strong delegation from the Council of Europe’s prevention of torture and inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment committee carried out a “rapid reaction” visit to Manston over 25-28 November due to concerns about conditions there, a visit that officials described as “relatively rare” in these circumstances.
Manston, a Ministry of Defence site in Ramsgate, has been beset by series of scandals, including a mass diphtheria outbreak, drug taking by guards, and asylum seekers being moved off the site and dumped in central London.
The facility was initially intended to hold a maximum of 1,600 people, but at one point had 4,000, with many staying considerably longer than the 24-hour legal time limit. Between 15 August and 23 November last year, more than 18,000 new arrivals were processed through Manston, according to the Home Office.
The Council of Europe’s report published on Thursday said that during the period when it was severely overcrowded, in late October and early November last year, prolonged detention in poor conditions “may have resulted in many persons held at Manston having been subjected to inhuman and degrading treatment”.
The report also provides new details about the circumstances surrounding the death of Hussein Haseeb Ahmed, a Kurdish man from Iraq, who was accommodated at the site, contracted diphtheria and died on 19 November after being taken to hospital.
After initially being taken to hospital and prescribed antibiotics following a false negative test for diphtheria, Ahmed was discharged back to Manston, where his condition deteriorated. He was examined by a paramedic on the site, who did not consult with a doctor from another paramedic company who was also on the site. He was taken to hospital in an ordinary van rather than in an ambulance. There were doubts about the adequacy of his intake of antibiotics, and the report warned that a lack of communication between the two paramedic companies “might have contributed to the possible spread of disease amongst other migrants, staff and even into the community”.
Other concerns raised by the delegation include:
Some people absconded from Manston.
One-sixth of those who arrived in small boats were lone children.
Some people were detained at Manston for up to 15 days after being granted bail.
Three different Home Office databases did not communicate well with each other.
There were two documented cases of migrants trying to strangle themselves with seatbelts while segregated in a cell van on the site. The delegation invoked human rights legislation to ensure that the cell van was removed from the site, a stipulation that the Home Office has complied with.
There were cases of people being detained for up to 43 days at Manston.
The Home Office has faced criticism from inspectors including HM Inspectorate of Prisons and the independent chief inspector of borders and immigration, along with parliamentarians.
More than 200 asylum seekers – single adults, families and lone children – are bringing legal cases because they were detained at Manston for more than the 24-hour limit that was in place at the time.
A Home Office spokesperson said: “We welcome the report and we have already made positive changes across a range of areas including infrastructure, welfare support, biometrics, health screening and communication with migrants.
“As part of our ongoing work to stop the boats, we will continue to ensure there is sufficient onward accommodation to prevent overcrowding at Manston. Our thoughts continue to be with Hussein Haseeb Ahmed’s family and all those who have been affected by this loss.”
