In a landmark decision, concerning over 60 Tamil asylum seekers stranded on the island of Diego Garcia, since October 2021, Margaret Obi, the acting judge of the supreme court of the British Indian Ocean Territory, ruled that their detention was unlawful.
Diego Garcia is part of the Chagos Islands, or British Indian Ocean Territory (Biot), an area described as being "constitutionally distinct" from the UK. It is administered from London by a commissioner based out of the Foreign Office.
Whilst on the island, the Tamil asylum seekers, including 16 children, were housed in military tents in the fenced camps and kept under a constant security presence by a private security company G4S. During a site visit in September, the court identified rips in some of the tents and rats nestling above military cots that were given to the asylum-seekers. There were also accusations of sexual assault and harassment within the camp, including against children.
In her judgement, Judge Obi noted that “it is unsurprising that the claimants feel as if they are in a prison; that is exactly what it is, in all but name”.
The BBC reports that there “were multiple hunger strikes and numerous incidents of self-harm and suicide attempts in response to the conditions in the camp, after which some people were transferred to Rwanda for medical treatment”.
The judge also found that the UK Home Office had impeded the progress of the claims for international protection because of the political impact on the government’s then flagship Rwanda policy. This prevented asylum claims from being determined and either being granted or refused.
A diplomatic cable between US and UK authorities sent on 12 June this year, also revealed that the US authorities opposed the asylum seekers leaving their camps, describing it as “an unacceptable and significant security risk to US base operations”.
In December of this year, UK Ministers finally agreed to airlift all but three to the UK.
