UK's Home Office Admits Seizing Mobile Phones From Migrants Unlawful - Reports

Lawyers representing the UK Home Office admitted on Thursday at the London High Court that the policy of seizing mobile phones from migrants crossing the English Channel to seek asylum in the United Kingdom was unlawful, the Independent newspaper reported

LONDON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 27th January, 2022) Lawyers representing the UK Home Office admitted on Thursday at the London High Court that the policy of seizing mobile phones from migrants crossing the English Channel to seek asylum in the United Kingdom was unlawful, the Independent newspaper reported.

According to the online edition of the media outlet, the lawsuit was brought by three asylum seekers from Iraq and Iran who were arrested on arrival in the UK despite committing no crime, and were unable to contact their families.

Government lawyers also admitted that a practice where asylum seekers were ordered to hand over their PIN numbers to allow immigration officers to access their phones was unlawful.

The court heard that the seizure policy operated at the Tug Haven initial reception facility in Dover, southern England, between April and November, 2020.

More than 25,600 people a figure that is more than triple the total for last year as a whole are estimated to have crossed the English Channel on small boats and dinghies in 2021.

In December, UK prison inspectors said in a report that migrants seeking asylum in the United Kingdom are experiencing "very poor treatment and conditions" at the detention centers where they are held while their applications are processed.