Legal News
Child Asylum Seekers Handed Six-Figure Compensation Pay-out for Long-Term Detention (11 January 2012)
Date: 11/01/2012
A family of Kurdish refugees hailing from Turkey has been awarded a six-figure compensation payout from the Home Office following spending a lengthy time in detention eight years ago. Four members of the Ay family were held in detention centres for a total of 13 months, the longest period for which children have ever been detained in the UK. The youngest member of the family, Medya, was seven years old when the family was detained in n 2002. Her siblings, Dilovan, Newroz and Beriwan were aged 11, 12 and 13 years old respectively at the time of the detention. The majority of their detention was spent at Dungavel immigration removal centre, based in South Lanarkshire in Scotland.
The family’s compensation claim was successfully settled out of the courts. The family's solicitor maintained that they had been unlawfully detained and for far too long. Child asylum seekers are unable to be detained for such lengthy periods. However, new rules allow them to be detained in short-term holding facilities for a maximum of one week.
The children are said to have shown signs of trauma during the period for which they were detained and for years following their release. The children are still believed to be living with the effects of being detained. The family claim to be happy to have been awarded compensation, adding that it sent a clear message that the Home Office’s actions were wrong.
Duncan Lewis’ immigration department stands up for the rights of child asylum seekers. The team of immigration solicitors can provide essential legal support to clients who require it.