UK considers sending asylum seekers to Rwanda — UK migrant policy thread

[Cricket Warrior]

First migrant flight to Rwanda from UK to depart in July - Sunak

Sunak, speaking at a press conference, refrained from disclosing the precise operational specifics of the plan but affirmed that the government had undertaken meticulous preparations for its implementation, Reuters reported.

Sunak said the government had booked commercial charter planes and trained staff to take migrants to Rwanda, a policy he hopes will boost his Conservative Party's flagging fortunes before an election later this year.

"I can confirm that we've put an airfield on standby, booked commercial charter planes for specific slots, and we have 500 highly trained individuals ready to escort illegal migrants all the way to Rwanda with 300 more trained in the coming weeks," Sunak said.

"We are ready. Plans are in place. And these flights will go come what may."

Under the immigration policy implemented two years ago, any asylum seeker arriving illegally in Britain will be transferred to Rwanda as part of a scheme designed to deter Channel crossings and disrupt the operations of people smugglers.

The British government proposed a plan to pay asylum seekers up to £3,000 ($3,836) apiece to migrate to Rwanda.

The whole immigration plan has faced a lot of opposition, especially from Conservatives, who contend that it would compromise judicial independence and put people at risk.

Sunak further expressed his confidence that the plan adhered to all of Britain's international obligations, responding to inquiries regarding its membership in the European Convention on Human Rights.

"If it ever comes to a choice between our national security — securing our borders — and membership of a foreign court, I'm, of course, always going to prioritise our national security," he said, referring to the European Court of Human Rights.

First migrant flight to Rwanda from UK to depart in July - Sunak

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has announced that the first flight transporting asylum seekers to Rwanda would depart in July

africa.businessinsider.com

 

[shaz619]

Threaten to send them back to India, best way to reinforce the borders.

 

[BouncerGuy]

Rwanda says it's ready for first wave of migrants from UK

Hope Hostel in Rwanda has been ready to receive Britain's unwanted migrants for 664 days.

Now, after the UK parliament approved the legislation, the Rwandan government wants to fill these echoing rooms and halls within a matter of weeks.

Rwanda has largely stood back and watched the legal wrangling in Britain over the controversial plan to deport asylum seekers to this East African country.

UK courts have put Kigali's human rights record in the spotlight by demanding more protections for those sent here.

In the meantime, Rwanda has meticulously prepared for their arrival since June 2022, two months after the deal was agreed.

I got a tour of the eerily empty hostel in the capital, Kigali, from the manager, Ismael Bakina. Its bedrooms are laid out with care, furnished with details like prayer rugs and toiletries.

Gardeners trim the hedges of the lushly green grounds that boast a football pitch and basketball court, while cooks and cleaners busy themselves in a surreal performance of their duties.

There is also a tent with rows of chairs waiting to process the migrants' applications for asylum in Rwanda. If they don't qualify they'll still be eligible for residence permits. Or they could try to go to another country, but not back to the UK.

Mr Bakina tells me the hostel is ready to start operations at a moment's notice.

"Even if they arrived now, today not tomorrow, we are able to accommodate them," he says. "We are keeping our readiness 100%."

Through the windows of the hostel you can see the rolling hills of Kigali's tidy neighbourhoods. It is a beautiful city with streets that are orderly and safe from crime. "Rwanda works" is the country's motto.

Some of the new arrivals may seek jobs here, but there are mixed views about whether Rwanda needs new workers.

"I think it will be good economically for the nation," says Emmanuel Kanimba, the owner of a restaurant in Kigali.

"I know they will provide human capital, they will also produce goods and services and also consume. [Then there are the] new ideas they might bring to our economy."

"But where are you going to find the jobs for these people?" asks another man. "We ourselves have graduated but we have not yet secured jobs. We are out there searching for jobs."

He did not want to be identified talking about a view that opposed government policy, reflecting an undertow of fear in the country.

There are widespread allegations that the authorities suppress dissent. The critics include human rights agencies, the political opposition, even assessments by the UK's Foreign Office as recently as 2021.

Victoire Ingabire, the outspoken opposition figure once jailed on charges of threatening state security, has used her case to argue that the asylum seekers are getting a bad deal.

"They are people who fled their country, because of poverty, because of war, because of the dictatorships they have in their country," she told the BBC.

"And they will come to a country where they will face the same problems, where they cannot express themselves for free, where they will not have the wellbeing they are looking for in the UK.

"I don't understand why the British government wants absolutely to send these people to Rwanda."

The Rwandan government strongly denies this.

And its parliament has passed a law to address the concerns of Britain's Supreme Court. This involved approving ratification of a recent treaty with the UK to strengthen protections for asylum seekers, including guarantees that they would not be sent back to the countries they'd fled.

I asked the top official in charge of the UK deal, Doris Uwicyeza Picard, whether the migrants would be able to criticise the government and hold protests if they wanted to.

"Our national laws are very clear about the right to protest, it is protected under specific circumstances," she said.

"If they do wish to protest peacefully within the confines of the law, they're welcome."

But, she added, "you have to remember that refugees in general, and with regard to the political activities of refugees, they're restricted by the Refugee Convention".

Rwanda has welcomed other asylum seekers, and often points to a transit centre south of Kigali as proof that it can take care of them very well.

This is a camp that houses Africans who were stuck in Libya, trying to get to Europe, and is administered by the UN's refugee agency.

It is a temporary haven for vulnerable people while they sort out next steps. They could choose to settle in Rwanda. None have, says the camp manager, Fares Ruyumbu.

'I'm not able to get a job here'

Daniel Diew is grateful to be here after harrowing experiences. He is a tall thin young man from South Sudan with 11 brothers and sisters, and left his village to find work so he could help care for the family.

Mr Diew tried seven times to cross the sea from Libya to Italy, and says he landed in prison each time he was sent back.

He has his sights set on North America now.

"I'm not able to get a job here," he says.

"There aren't plenty of jobs as I see because I've spent five months here. But I always pray hard to get the chance to get out of Rwanda."

When I ask him how he would feel if he had been sent here after making it to Europe, he lets out a heavy sigh and says hopefully God would protect him from that.

For the migrants at the transit centre, and for those still to come, this is all about seeking a better future. Will Rwanda be a detour for them, a dead end or a new home?

BBC

 

[Cricket Warrior]

Rwanda bill 'raises major concerns', top human rights official says

The Rwanda bill that ministers hope will curb the number of small boats crossing the Channel "raises major concerns", a leading human rights official has said as he called for key clauses to be reversed.

Michael O'Flaherty, the Council of Europe's commissioner for human rights, said he was "concerned" about the new law and he wanted the British government to "refrain from removing people under the Rwanda policy".

He told Sky News: "Managing asylum and migration is undoubtedly a complex endeavour for states but it must always be done in full compliance with international standards.

"In this regard, I am concerned that the Rwanda bill enables the implementation of a policy of removing people to Rwanda without any prior assessment of their asylum claims by UK authorities in the majority of cases.

"The UK government should refrain from removing people under the Rwanda policy and reverse the bill's effective infringement of judicial independence."

Rwanda bill 'raises major concerns', top human rights official says

The legislation, which ministers hope will reduce the number of small boats crossing the Channel, has finally passed the House of Lords, but human rights groups have said it is inhumane and cruel.

news.sky.com

 

[hassan918]

First failed asylum seeker sent from UK to Rwanda on voluntary scheme​

The UK has sent the first failed asylum seeker to Rwanda - under a voluntary scheme.

The scheme is for those who have gone through the asylum process and had permission rejected, rather than for migrants who have illegally entered Britain by crossing the Channel on small boats.

According to The Sun, the man of African origin claimed asylum in the UK but was rejected at the end of last year. He then accepted the offer to go to Rwanda.

He left the UK on Monday.

This was not done using the powers set out in the Safety of Rwanda Act, but rather a parallel scheme that allows someone to choose to make the trip if their attempts to claim asylum in the UK fails.

And upon arrival in Kigali, the person is able to claim around £3,000 in UK taxpayer money as help.

The development was criticised by both the Labour Party and Reform UK director Nigel Farage.

Yvette Cooper, Labour's shadow home secretary, said: "The Tories are so desperate to get any flight off to Rwanda before the local elections that they have now just paid someone to go.

"British taxpayers aren't just forking out £3,000 for a volunteer to board a plane, they are also paying Rwanda to provide him with free board and lodgings for the next five years. This extortionate pre-election gimmick is likely to be costing on average £2m per person.

"Former Tory Home Office ministers warned that the government's plan was just to get token flights off before a General Election. Now we know what they mean."

Former UKIP leader Mr Farage said: "Don't be conned by this new government spin on the Rwanda deal.

"This African man, who did not even cross the Channel, was refused asylum and has voluntarily accepted £3,000 and free board.

"It won't stop the boats."

The government's attempts to forcefully remove people to Rwanda were announced more than two years ago, but no one has been sent so far.

First failed asylum seeker sent from UK to Rwanda on voluntary scheme

The person went to Kigali on Monday under a voluntary scheme which lets people go to Rwanda if their application for asylum in the UK fails.

news.sky.com

 

[James]

A strange idea.

(In my opinion) we needed to move away from the pre 2016 open season policy, and there is nothing wrong with a country having robust immigration controls in place.

But this odd piece of legislation seems to have been formulated and executed quite poorly.

 

[FearlessRoar]

Rwanda: Officers raid homes of first people to be deported​

The detentions come following the passage of the Safety of Rwanda Act, which declared the central African nation a safe country for failed asylum seekers to be sent to.

Officers have raided the homes of the first people to be deported to Rwanda.

It comes following the recent passing of the Safety of Rwanda Act, which declared the central African nation safe following concerns raised by the Supreme Court last year.

A video released by the Home Office showed officers entering homes and bringing out people detained in handcuffs, before putting them in the back of secure vans.

According to the government, "operational teams within the Home Office have been working at pace to safely and swiftly detain individuals in scope for relocation to Rwanda, with more activity due to be carried out in the coming weeks".

It comes after a failed asylum seeker voluntarily chose to go to Kigali once their application to stay in the UK failed.

The Rwanda plan has been a major policy for the Conservative government since April 2022, but has faced repeated legal challenges.

Eddie Montgomery, the Home Office's director of enforcement, said: "Our specialist operational teams are highly trained and fully equipped to carry out the necessary enforcement activity at pace and in the safest way possible.

"It is vital that operational detail is kept to a minimum, to protect colleagues involved and those being detained, as well as ensuring we can deliver this large-scale operation as quickly as possible."

The Rwanda plan was introduced in a bid to deter people from crossing the Channel in small boats and entering the UK illegally.

Since the passage of the latest legislation, tensions have grown between the UK and Ireland after people entered the Republic to escape facing deportation.

Rwanda: Officers raid homes of first people to be deported

The detentions come following the passage of the Safety of Rwanda Act, which declared the central African nation a safe country for failed asylum seekers to be sent to.

news.sky.com

 

[Cricket Warrior]

UK starts detaining asylum seekers to be deported to Rwanda

Government expects to deport 5,700 migrants and asylum seekers to Rwanda this year, but rights groups ready to mount new legal challenge.

British authorities have started detaining asylum seekers as part of a new scheme to deport them to Rwanda, the government said, with the first flights expected to take off as early as July.

“Our dedicated enforcement teams are working at pace to swiftly detain those who have no right to be here so we can get flights off the ground,” said Home Secretary James Cleverly on Wednesday.

Confirmation of the round-ups came a week after legislators passed a contentious law declaring Rwanda to be a safe third country, bypassing an earlier UK Supreme Court ruling that had declared the scheme unlawful on human rights grounds.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who has promised to stop migrants and asylum seekers arriving on small boats from mainland Europe, had declared last week that the government would begin detaining people promptly before deportation flights start within “10 to 12 weeks“.

Calling it “another major milestone” in the Rwanda plan, the UK’s Home Office released photographs and a video of immigration enforcement officers detaining several people with handcuffs at different residences.

“This government has lost it’s last ounce of humanity,” the charity, Freedom from Torture, posted on social media on Wednesday.

A senior minister revealed on Tuesday that the government expects to deport 5,700 people this year, after it was confirmed that Rwanda had “in principle” agreed to accept that number.

UK starts detaining asylum seekers to be deported to Rwanda

Government expects to deport 5,700 people to Rwanda this year, but rights groups ready to mount new legal challenge.

www.aljazeera.com

 

[Slim]

I hope other countries adopt these measures. Only legal immigration should be allowed.

 

[BouncerGuy]

The illegal immigrants are always a thing to worry about in any country. Even if it America etc, they will always be one thing you would want to avoid.

 

[FearlessRoar]

Rwanda scheme legal challenge: Charity preparing action​

One of the UK's leading organisations helping victims of torture and trafficking is preparing legal action over the government's Rwanda plan.

Asylum Aid said it has urgently asked the Home Office to rethink, saying the scheme will not protect abuse victims.

The Home Office has begun detaining migrants in preparation for trying to send a flight in the summer.

Individual migrants could begin their own legal challenges from as early as next week.

Asylum Aid works with some of the most vulnerable refugees in the UK. It is part of the Helen Bamber Foundation, an internationally-recognised organisation dedicated to providing specialist therapeutic support to torture survivors.

The charity said that it had put the Home Office on warning that it intends to take ministers to court because the rulebook for officials now implementing the scheme undermines a key safeguard for refugees that remained in the plan.

In its detailed policy guidance, the Home Office tells caseworkers they "must" conclude Rwanda is safe even if they have been presented with compelling evidence that sets out why an individual could not be sent there because of their specific circumstances.

Caseworkers have also been ordered to ignore claims that Rwanda might send a migrant on to a dangerous country, even though the legislation seemingly allows individuals to present evidence that would leave them at risk of harm.

The risk that Rwanda would send migrants to countries that torture was the key factor in the Supreme Court's decision last November to declare the original plan unlawful.

The government has previously said the wording of the legislation means that someone with a very specific and narrow case for protection would not to be sent to Rwanda if they would suffer irreparable harm. But in practice, predicts the charity, officials will end up refusing to consider such compelling evidence.

Asylum Aid says that if the Home Office does not change the directions to caseworkers, to give migrants a fair chance of presenting their case, they will ask a judge to rule whether ministers are failing to follow the law.

Alison Pickup, the charity's director, said: "There is a lack of information on when flights to Rwanda will take off and who will be on them, but the government has made clear that it is determined to act quickly as we have already seen the Home Office carrying out forcible detentions.

"The panic this causes is made worse by the limited capacity to provide high-quality legal representation in the legal aid and charity sector. We have brought forward this legal action to ensure that the Home Office properly considers any individual cases against removal to Rwanda, including on the grounds that they would be returned from Rwanda to the place they fled."

The charity's decision comes days after the First Division Association, the union for senior civil servants, launched its own legal challenge.

It fears ministers will direct officials to break international law and the civil service code, the legally-enshrined rulebook for how government should be run.

The Home Office has been contacted for comment.

Rwanda scheme legal challenge: Charity preparing action

Ministers are now facing attacks on two fronts - with more cases expected from as early as next week.

www.bbc.com

 

[FearlessRoar]

Trade union says UK's Rwanda deportation policy makes officials break law​

Government officials would be acting unlawfully by implementing Britain's plan to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda in breach of an order from Europe's human rights court, a civil servants' trade union told London's High Court on Thursday.

The FDA union is taking legal action against the government over guidance issued to civil servants on how to implement decisions to remove people to Rwanda. It says this would mean its members breaking international law.

The guidance tells officials to obey ministers if they decide to ignore temporary injunctions – known as interim measures – issued by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), which is based in Strasbourg.

The FDA's lawyers say this unlawfully involves civil servants in "a clear violation of international law" in breach of their code of conduct.

"The Strasbourg court has made clear beyond any doubt that interim measures are not optional," the union's lawyer Tom Hickman said.

The first planned flight taking asylum seekers to Rwanda was blocked in 2022 after the ECHR issued a temporary injunction - a situation Britain's new law to implement the Rwanda policy seeks to pre-empt by stating that it is for ministers to decide whether to abide by such an order.

Government lawyers argue that the guidance simply follows the new law and that civil servants following ministers' decisions would be complying with domestic law.

The legal challenge comes ahead of a July 4 national election in Britain, in which immigration will again be a major political issue as small boats bearing asylum seekers continue to make the perilous journey across the Channel from France.

Sending asylum seekers who have arrived in Britain without permission to Rwanda is Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's flagship immigration policy, but legal and parliamentary obstacles have meant it has never got off the ground.

Last year, the Supreme Court ruled the plan was unlawful because of the risk that Rwanda would return asylum seekers to their country of origin. Sunak in response signed a new treaty with the east African country and pushed new legislation through parliament to override the Supreme Court ruling.

But implementation of the policy hinges on Sunak's Conservatives winning the election.

The first flight is due to leave on July 24 if they do. But the opposition Labour Party, leading by about 20 points in opinion polls, has pledged to scrap the plan if elected.

https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/trade-union-says-uks-rwanda-deportation-policy-makes-officials-break-law-2024-06-06/?taid=66619ee7b543f00001116ebd&utm_campaign=trueAnthem:+Trending+Content&utm_medium=trueAnthem&utm_source=twitter

 

[FearlessRoar]

SIR Keir Starmer has vowed that the Rwanda scheme is "dead and buried" in his first press conference as snaps of his new Cabinet have emerged

The new Prime Minister was quizzed by reporters this afternoon, just hours after new and returning MPs gathered at No 10.

Keir opened his first meeting by telling ministers: “We have a huge amount of work to do, so now we get on with our work."

He said he had set out to his Cabinet "exactly what I expect of them in terms of standards, delivery, and the trust that the country has put in them".

The PM then spoke at his first press conference this afternoon and was grilled by reporters.

It was there that he confirmed the Rwanda scheme was "dead and buried" under Labour.

When quizzed by The Sun's Kate Ferguson, Keir said: "Well, the Rwands scheme was dead and buried before it started.

"It's never been a deterrent. Look at the numbers that have come over in the first six months of this year, there are record numbers. That is the problem that we are inheriting.

"It has never acted as a deterrent, almost the opposite.

"Because everybody has worked out particularly the gangs that run this, that the chance of ever going to Rwanda was so slim, less than 1% that it was never a deterrent.

"The chances were of not going and not being processed and staying here therefore, being in paid for accommodation for a very, very long time.

"It's had the complete opposite effect. And I'm not prepared to continue with gimmicks that don't act as a deterrent."

Earlier, the PM had said Saturday morning was a "moment in history".

He told reporters: "At that meeting, I had the opportunity to set out to my Cabinet precisely what I expect of them in terms of standards, delivery and the trust that the country has put in them.

"And yesterday I met Laurie Magnus, the independent adviser on standards, to discuss how we deliver in Government.

"At the Cabinet meeting I also discussed mission delivery, how we would put into action the plans that we had set out in our manifesto."

Keir added: "Self-interest is yesterday's politics. I want a politics in this country that works for you."

The jubilant PM and his wife Victoria walked into their new home at No 10 for the first time yesterday — after promising to tear up planning regulations and rebuild Britain.

The triumphant Labour leader entered Downing Street after making a seven-minute address to the nation.

He will declare Britain open for business with a bonfire of planning regulations and a global investment drive to rebuild the nation.

And he will launch his premiership with an international diplomacy push next week and a plea to business to back UK Plc.

It will come ahead a series of policies in Labour’s first King’s Speech on July 17 — all aimed at kick-starting growth, in a bid to avoid painful spending cuts.

But Sir Keir will first hit the world stage at Nato next Tuesday before hosting all European leaders in Britain for a major summit the following week.

Labour’s plan to “hit the ground running” will be heavily focused on the planning system, which is seen as being vital to building more homes.

Sir Keir and Lady Starmer were greeted by delighted supporters as they walked into Downing Street following Labour’s landslide victory at the polls.

The couple were both seen embracing Victoria’s dad Bernard Alexander as they entered their new home.

Sir Keir used his speech in Downing Street yesterday to vow to get Brits on to the housing ladder for a better start in life. He promised that the infrastructure of the country will be built “brick by brick” as young people look for homes they can afford.

Rwanda scheme 'dead' says Keir in first press conference - as Cabinet revealed

SIR Keir Starmer has vowed that the Rwanda scheme is “dead and buried” in his first press conference as snaps of his new Cabinet have emerged. The new Prime Minister was quizzed by repo…

www.thesun.co.uk

 

[BouncerGuy]

Last two migrants bound for Rwanda to be bailed, home secretary says

The two last remaining migrants who are detained and waiting to be sent to Rwanda will be bailed in the coming days, the government has said.

The home secretary's spokesperson also revealed that a further 218 migrants were released on bail from detention centres by the previous government during the election campaign.

They were due to be deported to the east-central African country as part of previous PM Rishi Sunak's policy to tackle illegal immigration.

On his first full day as prime minister, Sir Keir Starmer confirmed the Rwanda deportation scheme is "dead and buried".

At his first press conference since entering No 10, the Prime Minister told journalists the scheme has "never been a deterrent" as it would only deport "less than1%" of small boat arrivals.

Scores of asylum seekers were taken into detention from late April, after Rishi Sunak said that flights would leave in the first weeks of July.

Under the Conservative government, the Home Office refused to confirm the number of people detained for Rwanda.

The BBC now understands a total of 220 people were detained with the purpose of being sent to Rwanda under the scheme.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has said she would like recruitment for a new "border security commander" to take place over the summer, and a new Border Security Bill to be included in the first King’s Speech.

A spokesperson for the home secretary said the Rwanda scheme was "an extortionate gimmick".

"If the last prime minister had believed it would work, he wouldn’t have called an election before a flight went off.

“During the election campaign, the previous government had released 218 people previously detained pending removal to Rwanda were bailed. At this time, only 2 people remain in detention. These will be bailed in coming days.”

They also confirmed plans are under way to boost capacity in the National Crime Agency to go after criminal people-smuggling gangs.

The financial implications of scrapping the Rwanda scheme and the total bill to the taxpayer are not yet known.

A question mark still hangs over the fate of the approximately 52,000 Channel migrants in the UK who are earmarked for deportation.

The Labour manifesto pledged to curb small boats crossing the Channel by hiring investigators and using counter-terror powers to "smash" criminal people smuggling gangs.

The new government has set illegal migration as one of their key priorities, but has yet to reveal the full details of their scheme.

BBC

 

[BouncerGuy]

Migrants stranded on Diego Garcia offered move to UK

Migrants stranded for years on the remote Indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia will be offered the right to come to the UK, under a government proposal.

Around 60 Sri Lankan Tamils have spent more than three years in a makeshift camp on the island, which hosts a secretive UK-US military base, after becoming the first people ever to file asylum claims there.

The government has previously opposed bringing the group to the UK and complex legal battles have been fought for years over their fate.

In a letter on Monday, government lawyers said that “following further consideration”, the government had proposed a “change of policy”.

Under this, “all families, children and those of the unaccompanied males who do not have criminal convictions, outstanding charges or investigations would be offered the opportunity to be transferred directly to the UK”.

It added that work on the offer was “ongoing” and a formal decision would be made within 48 hours. “Details will be provided as soon as possible,” it said.

In a phone call with one of the Tamils, an official said the decision to bring them to the UK was due to the “exceptional circumstances” of the island, adding that entry would be for “a short period of time”.

The Prime Minister’s Official Spokesperson told reporters at a daily news briefing in Downing Street that “the government inherited a deeply-troubling situation that remained unresolved under the previous administration when it came to migrants who had arrived at Diego Garcia. Diego Garcia had clearly never been a suitable long-term location for migrants”.

He added “the government has been working to find a solution that protects their welfare and the integrity of British territorial borders”.

Lawyers representing the Tamils described the move as a “very welcome step” in a “long battle for justice”.

“After three years living in inhumane conditions, having to fight various injustices in court on numerous occasions, His Majesty’s Government [HMG] has now decided that our clients should now come directly to the UK. We hope that HMG will now take urgent steps to give effect to this decision,” Simon Robinson of UK law firm Duncan Lewis told the BBC.

“Today’s decision is an enormous relief to our clients and we urge the home secretary to close the camp and bring our clients here without any further delay," said Leigh Day lawyer Tom Short.

“It looks like a dream. I don’t know what to think,” one Tamil said after receiving a call from an official with the news.

The UK had previously offered some of the group a temporary move to Romania with the possibility of then coming to the UK. Others were offered financial incentives to return to Sri Lanka.

The latest development comes after the UK announced last month that it was handing sovereignty of British Indian Ocean Territory (Biot), which includes Diego Garcia, to Mauritius. The military base, however, will remain on the island.

Under a separate deal last month, future migrants arriving on Biot before the arrangement with Mauritius comes into force will be transferred to the island of St Helena - another UK territory some 5,000 miles away.

In court on Monday, lawyers said three people with criminal convictions may be sent to the island of Montserrat - a British territory in the Caribbean - to serve their sentences.

The BBC was recently granted unprecedented access to Diego Garcia to attend a court hearing, which is set to determine whether the Tamils had been unlawfully detained.

During the visit, the migrants walked the court through military tents they have been living in, pointing out damp, tears in the canvas, droppings, and a rats’ nest above one of the beds.

Over the past three years, there have been multiple hunger strikes on the island, and numerous incidents of self-harm and suicide attempts after which some people have been transferred to Rwanda for medical care.

“For three years I have been caged. Now they are releasing me but I don’t know what to do. I feel a bit blank,” one man in Rwanda said.

“I am very happy because I am coming to the UK. I thought they would send me to some other country.”

The group includes 16 children. Most are awaiting final decisions on claims for international protection - which the United Nations says is akin to refugee status - or appealing against rejections. In total, eight have been granted international protection.

BBC