Failed asylum seekers in immigration detention centres will soon be able to apply to be freed on bail as fast track system found unlawful
Failed asylum seekers in immigration detention centres will soon be able to apply to be freed on bail, the Guardian reported yesterday.
Image credit: WikipediaIt follows Friday's Court of Appeal ruling that the fast track asylum appeals system is unlawful and must be suspended.
The Guardian says that the Home Office is expected to soon confirm that failed asylum seekers can apply for bail.
According to the Guardian, one possibility is that the Home Secretary will order the release of the 300 to 400 failed asylum seekers who are currently detained under the fast-track system. Those who are considered at risk of absconding may continue to be detained.
The Guardian says that all still have the right to be freed on bail, however, given that the fast track system under which they are detained has been quashed by the courts.
The Guardian notes that the use of the detained fast track system expanded rapidly in recent years, with 4,286 asylum seekers locked up in Yarl's Wood, Colnbrook or Harmondsworth detention centres under the scheme in 2013, a 73% increase over the number for 2012.
The high court ruled that the was system was unfair, as legal representatives for the asylum seekers face a strict timetable of seven working days to prepare appeals.