Volume 3 issue 2 December 2015

Detaining Torture Survivors: A Practical and Legal Analysis

Priya Solanki
Despite international prohibition, torture is prevalent throughout the world, and victims of torture are routinely detained in the UK. Every time the UKVI detain an asylum seeker, there is a real risk they are actually detaining a victim of torture. This article examines how UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) legally justify the incarceration of torture sur¬vivors through their policies and rules. In this article I will analyse the instruments used by the UKVI when detaining and consider how they are failing torture survivors by requir¬ing independent evidence of torture. We will see that we are without a clear and comprehensive description of the term ‘independent evidence of torture’, and I will look at how independent medical evidence is frequently rejected or deni-grated by the UKVI. Unfortunately, we will see that, even where there is independent evidence of torture, UKVI policies allow for continued detention in what is described as ‘very exceptional circumstances’. Sadly, this term is also not well defined and largely left open to interpretation. Victims of torture have often experienced the most traumatic mistreat-ment whilst being held captive. They are disproportionately adversely affected by detention. Being detained can be re-traumatising; it can stimulate memories of violence, their in-carceration, and their abusers. It can lead to deterioration in their health. This evaluation will help to understand how the current safeguards are routinely failing to protect this fragile population from further harm and injury.