Hundreds of people, including children and victims of trafficking and torture, have been convicted and jailed for arriving in the UK on small boats to seek asylum, according to a report.
Although the issue was highlighted in the case of Senegalese teenager Ibrahima Bah, the cases have largely gone unnoticed. He was sentenced to nine years and six months in prison after being found guilty of four counts of manslaughter and facilitating a violation of immigration law after steering an overcrowded boat that caused at least four people to drown.
The report titled There Is No Justice Here, prepared by the Center for Criminology and Border Criminologies at the University of Oxford, examined cases of people imprisoned for arriving on a “small boat” since the Citizenship and Borders Act (2022) came into force. Attendance at more than 100 hearings was used, as well as freedom of information requests and interviews with lawyers, convicted asylum seekers and interpreters.
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NGOs Human Rights Network, Captain Support UK and Refugee Legal Support contributed to the report.
The investigations found that there was no deterrent to Channel crossings and called for an end to criminal practices at the border.
Between June 2022 and October 2023, 253 people were convicted of unlawful entry under section 24 of the Immigration Act 1971, and seven people were convicted of facilitation under section 25 of that act. According to the investigation, those targeted for prosecution were either boat drivers like Bah or people with immigration history in the UK, such as having previously applied for a visa.
A series of successful appeals in 2021 overturned cases under these sections of the Immigration Act 1971. In response, in June 2022 the Citizenship and Borders Act expanded the scope of criminal offenses relating to irregular entry into the UK. While the maximum penalty of 4 years in prison was imposed for the crime of “illegal entry”, the penalty for the crime of “facilitation” was extended from 14 years to life imprisonment.
In 2022, one person in every 10 boats will be arrested for allegedly steering. In 2023, this number increased to one for every seven boats.
People have been found to “handle the tiller” for many reasons, including having boating experience, steering in exchange for a discounted pass, taking turns, or being under pressure.
Among those arrested were people from countries with high rates of asylum, such as Sudan, South Sudan, Afghanistan, Iran, Eritrea and Syria.
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The children, in an age dispute, were charged as adults with “unlawful entry” and “facilitation” for their alleged role in directing boats across the Channel.
The Human Network for Rights found that 14 of the 15-year-old disputed children accused of these new crimes, who were unfairly treated as adults following age assessments by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, were serving time in adult prison. They believe there may be more cases.
So far, five people have been confirmed as children, and the results of age assessments for the others are awaited. The majority of these age-disputed young people are Sudanese or South Sudanese who traveled to the UK via Libya.
Sudanese Ibrahim, who was found to have “his hand on the rudder” and sentenced to 15 months in prison for illegal entry and facilitation, said the following after being told that he was arrested: “No, I said I’m not guilty. If I’m guilty, all 30 or more people on the boat are also guilty. People United Kingdom “I laugh when you talk about justice and human rights in . There is none here. There is no such thing as justice here.”
Victoria Taylor, author of There’s No Such Thing as Justice Here and a researcher at the University of Oxford’s Center for Criminology, said: “This research report proves that people crossing the Channel in ‘small boats’ are being criminalized and imprisoned.
“This raises questions about the compatibility of the prosecutorial strategy with the refugee convention, as well as the lawful treatment of children who are victims of trafficking, victims of torture and children with ongoing age disputes.”
A Home Office spokesman said: “The language used in this report is misleading. Most asylum seekers arriving in the UK on small boats are initially detained for 24 hours or less.
“Asylum seekers should seek protection in the first country that is reasonable for them and we continue to take strong action to crack down on criminal gangs and deter migrants from making dangerous, illegal and unnecessary journeys across the Channel.”