LONDON: Asylum seekers are being housed by the British government in a former courthouse that was turned into a hostel and promises guests a stay in “an authentic prison cell.”
Some of the asylum seekers held in the accommodation had previously been imprisoned in their home countries, including Libya, The Guardian reported.
They told the newspaper that the experience of being locked up in the cell-like conditions has traumatized them again.
The unidentified hostel was previously a courthouse that had a prison wing, much of which has been preserved, including the cell windows, prison-style bunk beds and heavy cell doors.
The Home Office has said asylum seekers are staying in “regular hotel accommodation,” and the part of the building with “experience rooms” is not accessible.
Internal Home Office email discussions about how to respond to The Guardian’s questions were inadvertently sent to another media outlet, which passed the correspondence on to the newspaper.
In those emails, one official said: “I’ve called them experience rooms to avoid saying prison. Can we say that no one has stayed in court rooms or were they inappropriately placed there?”
That same email chain also revealed that officials visited the hostel on Oct. 25 and discovered overcrowding and a courtroom “fully set.”
One asylum seeker staying in the accommodation told The Guardian: “Everything is so bad here. Some of us have been through Libya where we have been imprisoned or have been tortured in other places. It makes us feel very bad to be living in a prison building even though we are not locked in.
“We were in another place before they put us here which was better than this. They just move us around like animals. They don’t care about us at all.” He added: “We are all sleeping close together and we are worried that we will catch Covid.”
Maddie Harris, founder of the Humans for Rights Network, said: “It is unthinkable that the Home Office is using this place to accommodate people seeking safety, many of whom will have been detained in countries such as Syria and Libya.
“This is extremely traumatizing for them. This accommodation must immediately be closed and residents provided with safe, secure accommodation that does not resemble a prison.”
A Home Office spokesperson said: “Due to unprecedented demand we have had to use temporary accommodation such as hotels to meet our statutory duties.
“The health and wellbeing of those in our care is our priority, which is why all accommodation must meet relevant health and safety legislation with a strict adherence to Public Health England guidelines.”