The threat of being sent to Rwanda has increased the risk of suicide among some vulnerable asylum seekers, according to medical evidence in a report.
The report, called Who’s Paying the Price? The Human Cost of the Rwanda Removals, from the charity Medical Justice, is the first in-depth analysis of 36 recently arrived asylum seekers in the UK who were held in immigration detention centres and threatened with removal to Rwanda on 14 June.
Along with interviews with the asylum seekers, the report analyses Home Office documents and reports about them as well as reports from independent expert clinicians who carried out assessments of 17 of the detainees threatened with Rwanda.
The charity described the Rwanda policy as a “cruel and reprehensible scheme”.
In-depth assessments of the 36 asylum seekers, who arrived in the UK between 9 May and 21 June this year in small boats or lorries, were conducted by independent clinicians. All had been issued with notices of intent by the Home Office that they were being considered for forced removal to Rwanda. Up to 130 people were reported to have been issued with these notices, although a much smaller number – 37 – were issued with tickets for the 14 June flight.
The asylum seekers surveyed fled various countries including Iraq, Iran, Syria and Eritrea.
Of the 36 asylum seekers surveyed, 26 showed evidence of having been tortured before they arrived in the UK, 15 showed evidence of PTSD, 11 had suicidal thoughts and one had attempted suicide twice.
Of the 17 assessed by independent clinicians, 14 showed evidence of torture and six had trafficking indicators.
Little is known about how asylum seekers are selected for Rwanda beyond them having arrived after 1 January 2022, had their claims deemed “inadmissible” by the Home Office and not being unaccompanied children.
“Who is selected seems to be random,” the report states.
The clinicians identified that the suicide risk for some had been exacerbated by the prospect of removal to Rwanda and that this threat had compounded existing mental health problems.
“Some individuals were clinically considered to be at high risk of suicide if they are threatened with removal to Rwanda,” the report states.
In June the Guardian reported that charities that support asylum seekers said they were documenting suicide attempts among those threatened with being sent to Rwanda.
Cases include a female Iranian asylum seeker who attempted suicide and told charity workers she took this action because she believed she faced being offshored to Rwanda. She was rescued, hospitalised and survived.
A 40-year-old Yemeni asylum seeker made a video addressed to Boris Johnson and Priti Patel stating that after he arrived in the UK on 13 April and found out about Rwanda offshoring plans he had “no other choice but to kill myself”.
Dr Rachel Bingham, a clinical adviser for Medical Justice, said: “Our clinicians have described the severe impact on mental health of the threat of removal to Rwanda. Our report shows extremely high rates of evidence of torture, trafficking and other vulnerabilities in this group. The policy knowingly places people in an extremely damaging situation and should be considered exceptionally harmful.”
Emma Ginn, the director of Medical Justice, said: “We are calling for the immediate and urgent release from indefinite immigration detention of all those targeted with removal for Rwanda, and for the policy to be abandoned. To not do so, given the medical evidence, means the harm the government is inflicting is premeditated.”
A Home Office spokesperson said:“The Medical Justice report features a number of inaccuracies and misrepresentations about the policy which we have previously addressed.
“No one will be relocated if it is unsafe or inappropriate for them, and our thorough assessment of Rwanda has found that it is a fundamentally safe and secure country, with a track record of supporting asylum seekers.”
In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org.
