Ay family
The Ay family are
Salih and Yurdugal Ay were Kurds seeking asylum who came to the UK to escape persecution in
In 2002, Yurdugal Ay and her children were suddenly removed from their home by immigration officials and taken to Dungavel detention centre in South Lanarkshire, Scotland. They were all put together in one room where they lived for a year inside a razor wire surrounded compound. Yurdugal could not speak English very well so it was up to her eldest daughter, Beriwan Ay aged 13, to negotiate for her mother and her sisters. The family were threatened with deportation but appealed. It was claimed by the authorities that they had brought the long stay at Dungavel upon themselves by this appeal.
Conditions in the privatised detention centre, run by the American private-prison operator
Bishop John Mone met Beriwan Ay on a visit to Dungavel and was appalled by what he discovered. During a later visit he smuggled a video camera into the centre [clergymen not being searched there], interviewed Beriwan to camera and released the video to the media. This was shown on BBC television's Newsnight programme. The case was also taken up by the Herald newspaper.[3]
A media storm ensued. The
In January 2012 the Home Office agreed to pay them a 6-figure sum of compensation in an out of court settlement following a civil action against the UK government for the ordeal of their time in detention.[6]
References
- ^ "Executive 'failed' Ay family". BBC News : Scotland. 2003-08-07. Retrieved 2007-05-18.
- ^ "Wallace has refugee centre doubts". The Scotsman. 9 August 2003. Retrieved 6 January 2012.
- ^ "Solution to asylum crisis became 'Scotland's shame'". The Herald (Glasgow). 23 October 2008. Retrieved 6 January 2012.
- ^ "Asylum family locked up in British detention centre are given leave to stay in Germany". The Independent. 7 November 2004. Retrieved 6 January 2012.[dead link]
- ^ Moira Petty (2006-10-30). "Radio review - Drama". The Stage. Retrieved 2007-05-18.
- ^ "Child asylum seekers win compensation for 13-month detention". The Guardian. 6 January 2012. Retrieved 6 January 2012.