Medical Justice
 | |
| Founded | 2009 by Harris Nyatsanza and Dr Frank Arnold |
|---|---|
| Type | Non-profit NGO |
| Location |
|
Key people | Emma Ginn (Director), Theresa Schleicher (Casework Manager), Kris Harris (Research and Policy Manager) |
| Website | http://www.medicaljustice.org.uk |
Medical Justice is a small charity that sends volunteer doctors (and other health professionals) into the UK's 11 Immigration Removal Centres (IRCs) to visit people detained "arbitrarily and indefinitely".
History[edit]
Harris Nyatsanza, a Zimbabwean torture survivor, was detained in 2005. When he became too weak to walk during a prolonged hunger strike, Harmondsworth Immigration Removal Centre refused to take him to hospital. A visitor contacted an independent doctor, Frank Arnold, who intervened.
Only after a High Court order was Harris released to hospital, handcuffed, on day 28 of his hunger strike. After he recovered, he and Dr Arnold brought together a handful of ex-detainees and activists for a campaign meeting. The group called itself Medical Justice and became a registered charity in 2009.
Work[edit]
Medical Justice offers independent medical advice and assessments to immigration detainees and writes medico-legal reports (MLRs) which can be used to support asylum claims and letters outlining significant medical concerns.
Doctors receive on-going training on improving the quality and integrity of MLRs and letters, with leading experts. Individual support is provided by the Medical Justice Clinical Lead, arrangements are made for ongoing peer support and information provided to support appraisal.
In 2019 Medical Justice became the secretariat for the All-party parliamentary group on Immigration Detention.
See also[edit]
Immigration detention in the United Kingdom
References[edit]
- http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/4903318.stm BBC News 'Facing up to an uncertain future', 12/04/2006
- Information on APPGs on the UK Parliament website
- Register of APPGs
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