David
"I was kept in prison for more than a year as I appealed against my deportation. Years later, my body still aches from the brutality of the place."
Our client, who has lived in the UK for over 20 years since he was a child, shares his story and the abuses he suffered while detained in prison under immigration powers in prison in response to the Brook House inquiry.
"For more than six months of my detention, I was kept in solitary confinement, where I was locked in my cell for more than 23 hours a day. For two of those months, I was physically restrained (or “twisted up”, as officers called it) every day, simply for demanding to know when I was getting out. To put that into context, 15 consecutive days of solitary confinement is prohibited under the UN’s so-called “Mandela Rules”, and is considered torture."
"Immigration officers would come to see me monthly, threatening that if I didn’t sign my deportation paperwork and go back voluntarily, I would stay in prison. I was already at rock bottom – and the only thing I had left to hold on to was the hope of being reunited with my family. I would never give up my right to stay in the UK with them."