Hundreds demo at asylum centre
Hundreds of protestors surrounded Dungavel Detention Centre yesterday, calling for its immediate closure.
Campaign group Stop Detention Scotland (SDS) said ex- detainees and asylum seekers were among those who took part in the protest at the Lanarkshire site.
Slamming it as a “racist and immoral prison”, SDS cal led on the Scottish Government to make closing the centre a priority.
It follows the death of a Chinese man at the centre last year.
SDS campaigner Grace Ch i ld s s a id : “Th i r t y thousand migrants are detained ever y year. More and more people are detained and, as a result, we have more deaths, more abuses, more scandals.”
However, the Home Office refused to bow to their demands.
A spokesman said: “We respect everyone’s right to peaceful protest but we maintain that detention and removal are essential elements of an effective immigration system.
“All decisions to detain are taken on the individual merits of each case, for the shortest period necessary. We take our responsibilities towards detainees’ welfare extremely seriously.”
The Home Of f i c e announced last year that the controversial centre was to close at the end of this year and a short- term hold ing cent re bui l t i n Paisley. However, councillors in Renfrewshire rejected the move.