ianstone
09-09-2010, 06:51 PM
Deported Iraqi asylum seekers say they were beaten and forced off plane
Violence allegedly erupted when refugees refused to leave flight after it touched down in Baghdad
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[URL="http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/owenbowcott"]Owen Bowcott (http://topsy.com/tb/www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/sep/09/deported-iraqi-asylum-seekers-beaten-plane-allegations)
guardian.co.uk (http://www.guardian.co.uk/), Thursday 9 September 2010 21.07 BST
Article history (http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/sep/09/deported-iraqi-asylum-seekers-beaten-plane-allegations#history-link-box)
A group of failed Iraqi asylum seekers who were forcibly deported to Baghdad this week have claimed they were beaten by British security staff and Iraqi police.
The violence allegedly erupted when the refugees (http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/refugees) refused to leave a charter flight after it touched down in Baghdad on Tuesday morning.
Pictures of one those said to have been injured were released by the International Federation of Iraqi Refugees (IFIR), a London-based organisation.
The federation is making a formal protest to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Last week the UN body rebuked the UK and several Scandinavian countries for removing failed asylum seekers to the five central governorates of Iraq (http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/iraq), which it says are unsafe due to attacks by al-Qaida sympathisers.
More than 60 failed asylum seekers were put on board the latest UK charter flight accompanied by an even larger number of security guards.
"When we arrived in Baghdad we refused to get off the plane," one of the failed asylum seekers, Sabar Saleh Saeed, said in a statement released by the IFIR. "One Iraqi policeman came on and said if we did not come down they would make us go down by force.
"We stayed where we were but the security guards forced handcuffs on us and started to beat us when they were dragging us off the plane. They were swearing at us, beating us.
"Four of them grabbed me to force me off the plane. They grabbed my neck and punched me. My eyes went dark. I could not see any light. I saw many other refugees with blood running down their faces.
"When I was on the steps on the plane they were still boxing me. There were a lot of Iraqi police there. They took over from the guards when I had got off. Then the Iraqi police beat us with their sticks."
Another returned asylum seeker, Lokman Hama Amin, who sent pictures of his injuries, said: "Four security guards grabbed me when we landed in Baghdad. They pushed me down to the floor of the plane. They handcuffed me.
"I was shouting, asking them to let me go because they were breaking my hand but they carried on beating my shoulder. Now I cannot move my arm: I have put it in a sling."
Dashty Jamal, secretary of the International Federation of Iraqi Refugees, said: "We are asking for all the human rights and progressive people in the UK to stop this barbarism and demand an end to this inhuman forcible deportation policy."
There have been complaints of force being used on such flights before. Earlier this summer, in response to similar allegations, the UK Borders Agency said: "We only ever return those who both the UK Border Agency and the courts are satisfied do not need our protection and refuse to leave voluntarily. A minimum use of force is an absolute last resort and would only ever be used when an individual becomes disruptive or refuses to comply. Even then, force is only carried out by highly trained officers, and should be carefully monitored and proportionate."
Last night the UK Border Agency said its senior staff who had been on board the flight did not witness any mistreatment by escorting staff or Iraqi officials. It said that minimal force had been used during boarding, on the flight and during disembarkation in order to prevent returnees from escaping or causing harm to themselves or others.
Violence allegedly erupted when refugees refused to leave flight after it touched down in Baghdad
[/URL]
[URL="http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/owenbowcott"]Owen Bowcott (http://topsy.com/tb/www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/sep/09/deported-iraqi-asylum-seekers-beaten-plane-allegations)
guardian.co.uk (http://www.guardian.co.uk/), Thursday 9 September 2010 21.07 BST
Article history (http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/sep/09/deported-iraqi-asylum-seekers-beaten-plane-allegations#history-link-box)
A group of failed Iraqi asylum seekers who were forcibly deported to Baghdad this week have claimed they were beaten by British security staff and Iraqi police.
The violence allegedly erupted when the refugees (http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/refugees) refused to leave a charter flight after it touched down in Baghdad on Tuesday morning.
Pictures of one those said to have been injured were released by the International Federation of Iraqi Refugees (IFIR), a London-based organisation.
The federation is making a formal protest to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Last week the UN body rebuked the UK and several Scandinavian countries for removing failed asylum seekers to the five central governorates of Iraq (http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/iraq), which it says are unsafe due to attacks by al-Qaida sympathisers.
More than 60 failed asylum seekers were put on board the latest UK charter flight accompanied by an even larger number of security guards.
"When we arrived in Baghdad we refused to get off the plane," one of the failed asylum seekers, Sabar Saleh Saeed, said in a statement released by the IFIR. "One Iraqi policeman came on and said if we did not come down they would make us go down by force.
"We stayed where we were but the security guards forced handcuffs on us and started to beat us when they were dragging us off the plane. They were swearing at us, beating us.
"Four of them grabbed me to force me off the plane. They grabbed my neck and punched me. My eyes went dark. I could not see any light. I saw many other refugees with blood running down their faces.
"When I was on the steps on the plane they were still boxing me. There were a lot of Iraqi police there. They took over from the guards when I had got off. Then the Iraqi police beat us with their sticks."
Another returned asylum seeker, Lokman Hama Amin, who sent pictures of his injuries, said: "Four security guards grabbed me when we landed in Baghdad. They pushed me down to the floor of the plane. They handcuffed me.
"I was shouting, asking them to let me go because they were breaking my hand but they carried on beating my shoulder. Now I cannot move my arm: I have put it in a sling."
Dashty Jamal, secretary of the International Federation of Iraqi Refugees, said: "We are asking for all the human rights and progressive people in the UK to stop this barbarism and demand an end to this inhuman forcible deportation policy."
There have been complaints of force being used on such flights before. Earlier this summer, in response to similar allegations, the UK Borders Agency said: "We only ever return those who both the UK Border Agency and the courts are satisfied do not need our protection and refuse to leave voluntarily. A minimum use of force is an absolute last resort and would only ever be used when an individual becomes disruptive or refuses to comply. Even then, force is only carried out by highly trained officers, and should be carefully monitored and proportionate."
Last night the UK Border Agency said its senior staff who had been on board the flight did not witness any mistreatment by escorting staff or Iraqi officials. It said that minimal force had been used during boarding, on the flight and during disembarkation in order to prevent returnees from escaping or causing harm to themselves or others.