A coronavirus outbreak was confirmed at the UK’s Brook House Immigration Removal Centre (close to Gatwick Airport) in early December. While the Home Office declined to clarify how many positive cases had been recorded or how many people were in isolation at that time, the Guardian reported that at least 17 detainees had tested positive […]
Human Rights
Central African Republic: Covid-19 and Detention
On 27 March, roughly a week after the first COVID-19 case was confirmed in the Central African Republic (CAR), authorities temporarily restricted entry for non-nationals and grounded all flights. President Faustin Archange Touadéra announced additional measures, including the closure of schools, bars, and an obligation to inform health authorities of any suspected coronavirus cases. The […]
Gabon: Covid-19 and Detention
Gabon registered its first COVID-19 cases in March and Parliament declared a state of emergency in early April. On 10 April, the government announced that the capital, Libreville, as well as neighbouring municipalities, would impose lockdown measures. On 3 May, UNICEF reported while Libreville remained the main hotspot. As of 14 December, Gabon had recorded […]
Netherlands: Covid-19 and Detention
In early December the Court of the Hague annulled the State Secretary for Justice and Security’s April 2020 decision to deport an Iranian national with severe heart problems, on the grounds that the State Secretary had failed to take into account Iran’s COVID-19 situation. In the court’s opinion, the plaintiff could have lacked access to […]
Turkey: Covid-19 and Detention
Responding to the Global Detention Project’s COVID-19 survey, a non-governmental actor in Turkey reported that the country has not delayed or stopped issuing administrative detention orders as a consequence of the global pandemic. The source, who asked to remain anonymous but whose identity was verified by the GDP, said that they had observed detainees confined […]
Liberia: Covid-19 and Detention
After declaring a national emergency in late March 2020, the Liberian government used emergency powers that enable it to require the registration of residents in infected areas, restrict movement within infected areas, and quarantine infected people. The government designated two of the 15 counties in the country as infected and imposed a 21-day lockdown along […]
Dominican Republic: Covid-19 and Detention
On 1 March 2020, the first COVID-19 case was confirmed in the Dominican Republic. Between 15 and 19 March, the government adopted a series of emergency measures, including halting flights from Europe, China, South Korea, and Iran; suspending ferry arrivals; and closing border crossings with Haiti. As of December 2020, the country had registered 149,138 […]
Bangladesh: Covid-19 and Detention
Despite repeated calls from human rights groups for Bangladeshi authorities to remove more than 300 refugees from the island of Bhasan Char (see 10 July Bangladesh update on this platform), The Guardian reports that in early December the country began moving even more Rohingya families from camps near the Myanmar border to the controversial refugee […]
Cote Ivoire: Covid-19 and Detention
The first case of COVID-19 in Côte d’Ivoire was confirmed on 11 March after an Ivorian national returned from Italy. On 23 March 2020, the Government declared a state of emergency via Decree n°2020-351, put in place a curfew from 9PM to 5AM, and closed all restaurants, bars, and nightclubs and imposed further restrictive measures. […]
Malta: Covid-19 and Detention
In a habeas corpus case, a Maltese court ordered the release of detained asylum seekers, describing their treatment as “abusive and farcical.” The four men, who arrived in Malta on 7 June 2020, had been detained in Safi Barracks and Lyster Barracks for 166 days and alleged that they had not been informed of any […]
