Judge Rules UK Illegally Detained Migrants on Diego Garcia

A judge has determined that Sri Lankan Tamil migrants were unlawfully held for years on Diego Garcia, a remote British territory. In 2021, dozens of Tamils became the first individuals ever to seek asylum on the Indian Ocean island, which hosts a secretive UK-US military base. They were confined for years in a small, fenced-off camp before being transferred to the UK earlier this month, in what the government described as a “one-off” move in the interests of their welfare. A spokesperson for the UK government stated it was “carefully considering” Monday’s judgement. Diego Garcia was never a “suitable long-term location for migrants” and the government “inherited a deeply troubling situation that remained unresolved under the last administration for years,” the spokesperson added. Lawyer Simon Robinson from the UK firm Duncan Lewis, which represents some of the migrants, commented that “questions need to be answered about how, in the 21st century, this was able to happen.” The ruling follows a landmark hearing conducted in September in a converted chapel on the island. The BBC was granted unprecedented access to the island and the migrant camp to cover the proceedings. Diego Garcia is part of the Chagos Islands, also known as the British Indian Ocean Territory (Biot), an area described as being “constitutionally distinct” from the UK. It is administered from London by a commissioner based out of the Foreign Office. During their time on the island, the Tamils, including 16 children, were accommodated in military tents within the fenced camp, which was continuously guarded by the private security company G4S. Tamils have characterized their experience on the island as akin to living in “hell.” “It’s like an open prison – we were not allowed to go outside, we were just living in a fence and in a tent,” one woman told the BBC after being brought to the UK with her husband and two children this month. During a site visit to the camp in September, the court observed rips in some of the tents and rats nesting above military cots provided to the migrants as beds. The conditions in the camp led to multiple hunger strikes and numerous incidents of self-harm and suicide attempts, after which some individuals were transferred to Rwanda for medical treatment. There were also reports and allegations of sexual assault and harassment within the camp by other migrants, including against children. Margaret Obi, acting judge of the Biot supreme court, declared in her ruling on Monday that the camp was a prison “in all but name” and “had been a prison from the outset.” She found that one former deputy commissioner “appeared to have only a limited appreciation of the fundamental importance of liberty.” Tom Short, a lawyer with the firm Leigh Day, stated that the judgement was “not only a vindication of our clients’ rights but a triumph for the rule of law in the British Overseas Territories.” He further added, “Such an affront to fundamental rights should never have happened and in due course this travesty of administration must be looked at in full.” While the camp has now closed, two men with criminal convictions and another under investigation remain on Diego Garcia, the BBC understands. Britain took control of the Chagos Islands from its then-colony, Mauritius, in 1965 and subsequently evicted its population of more than 1,000 people to make way for the base. The judgement comes after the UK agreed earlier this year to transfer the islands to Mauritius in a historic move. Under the deal, which has still to be signed, Diego Garcia would continue to operate as a UK-US military base, but Mauritius would assume responsibility for any future migrant arrivals. Copyright 2024 BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.