A controversial refugee settlement set up by the Bangladesh government on the island of Bhasan Char has been under intense scrutiny since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic because of claims by government officials that refugees confined to the site are being kept there as a Covid-19 quarantine measure. This scrutiny has intensified after women […]
Detention Blog
Micronesia: Covid-19 and Detention
The Federated States of Micronesia, which as of 25 August 2020 had no confirmed cases of COVID-19, does not have national asylum legislation and is not a signatory to the UN Refugee Convention. According to the 2020 U.S. Trafficking in Persons Report, human traffickers target women from Micronesia for different forms of exploitation. As of […]
Foreign nationals deprived of their liberty in Malta (from report of the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture 2020 visit to Malta)
1. Preliminary remarks; (Read full CPT report) 8. Malta, a small densely populated Mediterranean island of around 515,000 people, measuringsome 246 km², is situated in a highly strategic location at the border of Europe, lying directly northby sea from Tripoli, Libya. For asylum seekers and migrants crossing the Mediterranean, some fromconflict-ridden home countries and others […]
Greece: Covid-19 and Detention
More than 240 refugees and migrants have tested positive for Covid-19 in the newly erected Kara Tepe camp on Lesvos. The new camp, which was constructed after a fire levelled Moria camp, is built on a former military firing range near the main town of Mytilene. In the wake of the Moria fire, more than […]
Iraq: Covid-19 and Detention
Since March, Iraq has imposed movement restrictions and closed border points to control the spread of the virus. The border closures have been a major obstacle for refugees and asylum seekers, mainly from Syria. However, UNHCR reports that since July the Peshkhabour Border Crossing Point has been open intermittently—albeit only to accept the readmission of […]
Metsälä Detention Unit for Foreign Nationals from report of the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture 2020 visit to Finland)
B. Foreign nationals deprived of their liberty under aliens legislation (Read full CPT report)25. There had been no major changes to the legal framework for immigration detention since the2014 visit. As previously, foreign nationals could be deprived of their liberty by the police or theBorder Guard if it was necessary to establish their identity, to […]
Kiribati: Covid-19 and Detention
Kiribati does not operate any dedicated immigration detention facilities. Instead, foreigners who have committed immigration offences may be detained at a motel, hotel, or guesthouse at the cost of the individual passenger, their agent, or their employer. Those who cannot afford accommodation will be detained in a State Prison Facility. As of September 2020, Kiribati […]
Lao People’s Democratic Republic: Covid-19 and Detention
Historically, Lao PDR has not been a destination for refugees or asylum seekers. However, the country’s land-locked location and long borders with five other countries has made Lao susceptible to being used as a source, or point of transit, for human traffickers. As the U.S State Department noted in its 2020 Trafficking in Persons Report, […]
United States: Covid-19 and Detention
In a complaint submitted to the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of the Inspector General, a nurse previously employed at the Irwin County Detention Centre in the state of Georgia alleges that the women detainees at the privately-operated centre have suffered severe abuses and “jarring medical neglect” throughout the Covid-19 pandemic. According the nurse, Dawn […]
Greece: Covid-19 and Detention
On 9 September 2020, a few days after several people in Lesvos’ Moria Camp tested positive for Covid-19, fires broke out that destroyed the camp, leaving some 13,000 people without shelter and resulting in a major humanitarian crisis. It is unclear how the fires began but according to Greece’s migration minister, the fires “began with […]
