by Hundreds of people, including children and victims of trafficking and torture, have been convicted of arriving in the UK in small boats to claim asylum, according to a report.
The prosecutions have largely slipped under the radar, although the issue has been highlighted by the case of Senegalese teenager Ibrahima Bah. He was sentenced to nine years and six months in custody after being convicted of four counts of manslaughter and one count of facilitating a breach of immigration law after directing the drowning of a troubled crowd, which resulted in the drowning of at least four people.
The report, called No Such Thing as Justice Here, from the Center for Criminology at the University of Oxford and Border Criminology, examined cases of people jailed for arriving on a “small boat” from the Nationality and Borders Act. 2022) in force. He used a combination of attending more than 100 court hearings, as well as freedom of information requests and interviews with lawyers, convicted asylum seekers and interpreters.
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The NGOs Human Rights Network, Captain Support UK and Legal Support for Refugees contributed to the report.
He concluded that the prosecutions did not act as a barrier to crossing the English Channel and calls for an end to criminalization at the border.
Between June 2022 and October 2023, 253 people were convicted under section 24 of the Immigration Act 1971 for illegal entry and seven under section 25 of that Act for facilitation. According to the research, those targeted for prosecution were either boat drivers like Bah or had a history of immigration to the UK, such as a previous visa application.
In 2021, a series of successful appeals quashed prosecutions under these sections of the Immigration Act 1971. In response, in June 2022, the Nationality and Borders Act extended the scope of criminal offenses relating to irregular arrival to the UK. The offense of “arriving illegally” was introduced, with a maximum sentence of four years, while the offense of “facilitation” was extended and the maximum sentence increased from 14 years to life imprisonment.
In 2022, one in 10 boats was arrested for their alleged role in steering. In 2023, this will increase to one in seven boats.
It has been recognized that people have a “hand on the tiller” for many reasons, including having boating experience, steering in return for a discounted passage, taking it in turns, or being under duress.
Those arrested included people from countries with a high rate of asylum granting, including Sudan, South Sudan, Afghanistan, Iran, Eritrea and Syria.
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Children in age disputes have been charged as adults with “unlawful arrival” and “facilitation” offenses for their alleged role in steering boats across the English Channel.
The Human Rights Network has identified 15 age-disputed children who were unfairly treated as adults following Home Office age assessments and charged with these new offences, while 14 spent time in an adult prison . They believe there are likely to be more cases.
So far, five have been confirmed as children and the result of age assessment on the others is awaited. The majority of these young people, whose age is disputed, are Sudanese or South Sudanese, and have traveled to the UK via Libya.
Ibrahim, from Sudan, who was sentenced to 15 months for illegal arrival and facilitation after being identified with his “hand on the tiller” after being told he was being arrested, said: “I didn’t say, I am not guilty. If I’m guilty, so is everyone, all 30 or more people on the boat. I laugh when people say about justice in the UK, about human rights. There is none here. There is no such thing as justice here.”
Victoria Taylor, author of No Such Thing as Justice Here, and researcher at the Center for Criminology, University of Oxford, said: “This research report provides evidence of the criminalization and imprisonment of people crossing the English Channel on ‘small boats’.
It raises questions about the compatibility of the prosecution strategy with the refugee convention, as well as the legal treatment of victims of trafficking, torture and children with ongoing age disputes.”
A Home Office spokesman said: “The language used in this report is misleading. Most asylum seekers who arrive in the UK by small boat are initially held for 24 hours or less.
“Asylum seekers should seek protection in the first country where it is reasonable for them to do so and we continue to take strong action to crack down on criminal gangs and deter migrants from making dangerous, illegal journeys and non-essentials across the English Channel.”
