Rochester prison has been the subiect of many protests was Detention prison in 1995. On average there are 190 immigration detainees Now the way they are trcatca the Prison Service has been conoffical Inspectorate of Prisons. The report followe an unannounced inspection rules has f Sir David Ramsbotham said Rochester prison was found worse state last than inspected. He questioncu applied to these unconvicted the legality only prisoners.
Drug tests For example they have able been subject to mandatory drug testing. and punishment through prison disci›linary procedures if they fail to co-operate. No legal justification for this could : provided This lack of.concern for due process extends to the very fundamentals of the detention of these people -they were not provided with any written explanation they Were during the past year."
Ramsbotham Ramsbotham's report makes clear that this was a wider concern on his part, their from inspections centres, such as Campsfield in Oxfordshire. and little Despite his coherent set of guidelines, yet been formu- Some lated for all detainees When subjected to prison adjudication documents English, which many of the detainees do not of the general regime. understand.
Induction procedures and documentation were availalthough detainees who did English, by not understand them still required to sign them weeks as if they did. of the detainees speak little In general, although many self. or no Bogusn, machics communicate with them in were not employed: "remarkably repeatedly protested there had been no instances onditions. Numerous su in which the Language Line cide attempts, had been used at Rochester strikes and official have also criti- unheard. The response cised the Prison Service tor the prison authorities and treating detainees as if they immigration were unconvicted prisoners removal of the individual to the segregation unit, restricneeds were markedly different. There tions under prison regulawas little activity for them tions although trial pending remoral to the hunger gone forceful Schengen treaty and other racist Haider's ascendancy.
cases been campaigo The mild Protesters outside the Austrian embassy in London on February 19 in solidarity with the mass demonstration in Vienna ( see p 16-17). In Britain state racism is a greater danger today than the far right -but watch out. It was Austrian Social Democracy's support for the EU'S measures which laid the basis for