Boys, 6, seized in their school uniforms and locked up at Dungavel

Published on Friday 5 March 2010 21:49

TWO six-year-old asylum seekers were seized by immigration officials and taken to Dungavel detention centre while still in their school uniforms.

The twins, who were living in Glasgow's Cranhill area, were detained on Wednesday afternoon along with their mother and taken to the controversial centre.

Campaigners and supporters of the family voiced their outrage last night and renewed calls for an end to the locking up of children in Scottish immigration cases.

Stephanie Ovranah arrived in the UK in 2006 when her boys, Joshua and Joel, were infants, after fleeing domestic violence at the hands of her partner and his mother in Nigeria.

Her request for asylum has exhausted the legal process, though supporters said she was trying to obtain a new lawyer for a fresh appeal. Miss Ovranah has insisted her partner will forcibly take the boys from her if she is sent back to Nigeria.

Friends said Miss Ovranah had severe scarring caused by burns, that she says were inflicted by her partner's mother. Her own mother and sister are in London, with leave to remain in the UK.

The family have been involved with the Cranhill Community Project in Glasgow, and have also been attending Cranhill Parish Church. The minister, the Rev Muriel Pearson, visited the family on Thursday at Dungavel and said it was likely they would be transferred to Yarls Wood Immigration Removal Centre in Bedfordshire today, which would isolate the family further.

Ms Pearson said: "Our church members question the need to detain the family, since Stephanie does not pose a flight risk. They also wonder what it costs to run and staff a centre like Dungavel.

"Visitors have all their belongings removed, are photographed and have fingerprint recognition done. It is a horrific experience for anyone to go through, not least for two six-year-old boys."

She added: "Because the Scottish Government and the Scottish people are not happy to have children in detention, they get moved to Yarls Wood as quickly as possible, which can put them in a worse place."

The family were detained after they went to sign on at Brand Street Immigration Centre on Wednesday afternoon. The children had just left St Rose of Lima Primary in Glasgow's east end and were still wearing their uniforms as they were taken to Dungavel.

The Rev Ian Galloway, the Kirk's church and society council convener, said: "The General Assembly, along with many others in Scotland, have expressed their abhorrence at the practice of detaining young children and have asked the Scottish Government to end this brutal and inhumane regime.

"Here is the latest example of young children being put in distressing circumstances without any indication that they have done anything other than what has been asked of them."

The Scottish Refugee Council renewed its call for an end to child detention, which it called "both shameful and wholly unacceptable".

Chief executive John Wilkes said: "Despite an increasing body of evidence which clearly demonstrates detention has a serious impact on both physical and mental health, and wellbeing, this disgraceful practice continues. We believe the asylum system should be both fair and just, and the detention of children is neither.

"Cheaper and more effective alternatives to detention are available and have already been used successfully in other countries. We would look forward to a situation where no child in Scotland is detained because their parents are seeking sanctuary in Scotland."

The UK Border Agency would not comment on specific cases. Phil Taylor, its regional director for Scotland and Northern Ireland, said: "We would much rather those families whom our courts have found do not qualify for asylum or for humanitarian protection leave the UK voluntarily."