The People's Tribunal on Immigration and Asylum

The British Government is on trial for violations of human and civil rights under racist immigration and asylum laws. The People's Tribunal on Immigration and Asylum was held in Westminster on the 25th November 1993. The Tribunal heard first hand testimonies to extensive violation of human and civil rights under Britain's immigration and asylum laws. These violations extended to people being brutally assaulted or even killed in detention or during deportatio; families being broken up permanently; women being thrown out of this country because they left violent marriages.

'We've been silent long enough. We need to shout out, to stop these injustices. I think we've had enough' said Naheed Ejaz. The Tribunal put forward a series of demands for fundamental changes in Britain's immigration and asylum laws including:

  • The immediate release of all detainees held under immigration and asylum legislation in prisons and in detention centres
  • That people whose status is questioned by the immigration authorities should have the right to be considered innocent until proven guilty, a right guaranteed in all other areas of British law
  • That in cases of immigration or asylum-related deaths in custody, a public inquiry should automatically be held
  • That independent structures should be set up to monitor the actions of police and immigration officials in immigration and asylum related cases

Summing up the findings of the Tribunal, Ian Macdonald QC said:

'The last ten years have undoubtedly seen the exposure to the public of the kind of lies, perjury and framing of people which has been carried out by members of different police forces. In the light of the testimony we are hearing, of the atrocities committed by immigration officers and of the number of cases where immigration officers are resorting to lies and to other dishonest behaviour, the next ten years will certainly see immigration officers exposed in the same way'. The event was a telling indictment of the British Government in the 1990's, and a vital record of a specific point in the history of the struggles of black migrant and refugee communities for justice. More than anything the event was a testimony to the courage of those who came forward to give evidence of their own experiences and whose resilience and determination to fight for justice is a lasting source of inspiration.
(Director: Ivan Ali Fowzil/136 mins/1994)