Campaign group slams opening of detention centre
ASYLUM campaigners have reacted with fury to the opening of a controversial County Durham detention centre.
Campaign group Women For Refugee Women, which opposed the transformation of Hassockfield Secure Training Centre, near Consett, into a prison for women whose immigration and asylum claims have been refused, claims the first groups of women were moved from Yarl’s Wood Detention Centre, in Bedford, to the Durham site on Tuesday.
A Home Office spokesperson said that “for security reasons” he could not confirm exactly when the first inmates were moved in, but did confirm the centre would be open for around 80 women “by the end of the year”.
Hassockfield closed in 2014 and was the site of the former Medomsley Detention Centre. It has now become Derwentside Immigration Removal Centre (IRC).
Groups opposing the new use of the site say it is “cruel and unnecessary” to lock up women, most of whom have survived traumatic human rights violations including torture and rape.
They insist they should be allowed to remain in the community while their pleas to stay in the UK are considered, calling on Government to honour previous pledges and continue to reduce the number of vulnerable people detained in immigrations centres.
The government says its immigration removal estate is now around 50% smaller than in 2015 but “of significantly higher quality”. The Home Office insists detention is used “sparingly” only for those with a realistic prospect of being removed from the country.
However, Women For Refugee Women say many of those who leave such detention centres are released back into the community in the UK, making their imprisonment “pointless”, as well as “retraumatising and harmful”.
Agnes Tanoh was detained at Yarl’s Wood immigration detention centre in Bedfordshire for three months before she was granted refugee status. She’s been a key part of the campaign against the County Durham detention centre, starting a petition against it that has gained over 16,000 signatures.
The arrival of women at the former Medomsley site is a day she “hoped would never come”.
“It takes me back to the day I was taken to Yarl’s Wood,” she said.
“Everything was taken from me, including my phone, so I could not get in touch with my family to let them know. The journey to Yarl’s Wood was long and I didn’t know what was happening. Fear. Fear. Fear. That is what I felt.”
A Home Office spokesperson said: “To ensure the needs of women are safeguarded, Derwentside will strictly adhere to relevant guidance and provisions and has vital services such as a bespoke health suite and mental health in-reach.
“Individuals in removal centres can easily contact their legal representatives by telephone, email and video call, and also receive 30 minutes free advice through the legal aid scheme.”