Amnesty International says the UK government is breaking the law by locking up too many asylum seekers before their claims are dealt with. A report by the human rights group estimates 25,000 asylum applicants were held in detention centres during 2004.
It says many of these were vulnerable, such as pregnant women, families with children and torture victims.
The Home Office said detention powers were "essential" to ensure effective immigration controls. It did not confirm the numbers stated in the report, but said it was committed to ensuring that everyone detained was treated with "humanity and dignity".
But the Amnesty says the government's use of detention for asylum seekers is a "lottery", dependent on the availability of beds rather than whether it is necessary or appropriate.
It says some people had been held without a final decision on their application for up to two years, a move it says is illegal because the detentions did not appear to be leading to removal from the UK.
what happen to an asylum seeker whose case have been dealt with and refuge.
Posted by: nathalie | July 19, 2005 at 12:47 AM