Asylum Seeker Slashed his Wrists as ‘Distressed’ Migrants Deported on Home Office Charter Flight

An asylum seeker cut his wrists on a charter flight as the Home Office deported him, a report has revealed. Another man on the same plane, who was also known to be a suicide risk, had concealed a blade in his mouth and several people were “very distressed”, HM Inspectorate of Prisons said. “There had been a number of incidents of actual self-harm in the preceding days by detainees who had been told they would be on the flight,” the report added. “Some had been removed from the list to travel on this occasion. Two with identified self-harm risk travelled, one of whom harmed himself in transit and the other had a concealed blade in his mouth.” The man who harmed himself was found cutting his wrist inside an aircraft toilet with a small blade, and then a handcuff was put over the bleeding wound, HM Inspectorate of Prisons said. It was later treated. The watchdog found that officials fitted handcuffs to three asylum seekers “to inflict pain”, while seven were made to wear waist restraint belts. The report was published after the Home Office blamed “activist lawyers” for causing delays and cancellations to deportation flights after launching legal challenges, including some relating to human rights. The plane carried 14 asylum seekers and 86 staff from Stansted airport to Frankfurt and Toulouse on 12 August.

Read more: Lizzie Dearden, Independent, https://is.gd/tzZUsd