Court documents reveal that the UK’s deportation plan to take asylum seekers back to Rwanda was canceled in June after government officials were warned of human rights abuses, including torture and killings . File photo by Andy Rain/EPA-EFE.
Aug. 16 (UPI) — The first flight to bring asylum seekers from Britain to Rwanda was canceled in June after UK ministers were warned about human rights abuses by the Rwandan government, including torture and killings, according to documents released Tuesday in Britain’s high court.
The court is considering an application by an Foreign Office official to preserve parts of the sealed documents for national security concerns, as several media outlets and some migrants argue that the 10 comments are in the public interest.
According to the unnamed official, a public document on Rwanda and its human rights record was being updated as the flights were being planned. The official stated that Rwanda’s updated “Country Information and Policy Note” said migrants would be “entitled to full protection under Rwandan law, equal access to employment and enrollment in health services and of social care”.
The paper was questioned after a reviewer was skeptical about whether it gave an accurate description of the country.
“There are structures of state control, security, surveillance from the national level… political opposition is not tolerated and arbitrary detention, torture and even murder are also accepted methods of enforcing control,” the official wrote in a cover email, according to High Court judge Lord Justice Lewis.
Jude Bunting QC argued on Tuesday for media organizations that want the information released.
“The public must understand the material available to the government at the time the impugned decisions were made, the evidence said to weigh against, as well as to justify, this flagship policy and the reasons why the government decide ahead,” Bunting said.
A decision on whether to release the documents could come as soon as Wednesday.
The first Rwanda-bound deportation flight, carrying asylum seekers who entered Britain illegally, failed to take off as planned on June 14 after a last-minute intervention by the European Court of Human rights.
The flights would take migrants who arrived in Britain – deemed by the government to be “illegal, dangerous or unnecessary” – back to Rwanda where they could seek asylum. So far this year, more than 13,000 asylum seekers have crossed the English Channel in small boats from France.
Several groups have criticized the flights, claiming they are cruel. A full court hearing on the legality of the UK deportation plan is scheduled for September 5.
