Protestors gathered outside of Glasgow’s Brand Street reporting centre to draw attention to deaths of detained asylum seekers
WE WILL RISE held a demonstration at Glasgow’s Immigration Enforcement and Reporting Centre on Monday to draw attention to the death of an asylum seeker in West London.
Amir Siman-Tov was detained at a Colnbrook removal centre and, while an investigation is currently underway, the cause of his death is not yet known.
According to the Guardian , another detainee at Colnbrook said that Siman-Tov had been kept in a health wing of the centre and placed on suicide watch.
Campaign group We Will Rise is made up of asylum seekers, migrants, refugees and allies who campaign against the immigration system. Other demonstrations from the group include a recent Dungavel protest .
The group timed its demonstration in Glasgow to coincide with the end of shifts for reporting centre workers, who heard calls of “shame on you” as they left the building grounds.
A six-month review into the detention system commissioned by the UK home secretary found that detainees were at risk of suffering damaged mental health .
The Shaw Review highlighted the number of deaths in detention, with 12 occurring since 2011, and We Will Rise believes the numbers are being suppressed.
“Amir’s death is a reflection on how this racist system sees and treats migrants, not only by locking them in facilities that are reminiscent of high security prisons.” Sally Martinez, We Will Rise
Sally Martinez, speaking on the group’s behalf, said: “In the last year at least three people have died in detention. The cause of most of these deaths remains unknown or classified as suicide, even though the circumstances around them show this cannot be possible, like in Amir’s case.
She added: “Amir’s death is a reflection on how this racist system sees and treats migrants, not only by locking them in facilities that are reminiscent of high security prisons but also places with a lack of adequate healthcare, mental health support, diet, etc.”
Currently, failed asylum seekers cannot gain access to NHS services in England and Wales including mental health facilities, but can continue to do so in Scotland .
Picture: Neil Dallimore