COMMENT
The psychological toll of ATCSA detention
By Harmit Athwal
14 October 2004, 3:00pm
On 13 October 2004, a panel of psychologists and a psychiatrist made
public a report showing that the damage to men held indefinitely
without trial under the Anti Terrorism Crime and Security Act 2001
(ATCSA) was both grave and predictable.
The experts reported that there had been a 'progressive deterioration
in the mental health of all those detainees and their families' and
that the indefinite nature of the detention was a 'major factor in
their deterioration'. The report was based on assessments of eight of
the twelve men held under the ATCSA. Compiled by eleven psychiatrists
and one psychologist, it drew on forty-eight documents and reports
compiled over the last two and a half years, including those by prison
staff as well as by independent doctors employed by the men's legal
team. It also recounted the way that the detention of immigration
detainees causes 'hopelessness and helplessness' - leading to
depression, anxiety, attempts to self-harm, serious suicide attempts
and psychotic symptoms. Other studies have found that there is a strong
association between the severity of such symptoms and the length of
detention.
The effects of indefinite detention
Little wonder then that the report on the eight men, some of whom have
been held for three years, found that:
â–ª All suffer from significant levels of depression and anxiety. These
symptoms are of clinical severity and have shown a deterioration over
time.
â–ª Some of the men are also suffering from post-traumatic stress
disorder (PTSD) - the result of events either prior to their coming to
the UK or surrounding their arrests.
â–ª The men dwell on thoughts of suicide and a number have self-harmed.
They have cut themselves and made attempts to hang themselves.
â–ª All feel hopeless and helpless.
â–ª Some have complex needs as a result of other medical problems -
these are not being adequately met by prison healthcare services.
â–ª There is a failure by prison authorities to perceive the men's
condition as a serious problem - rather they judge it as 'manipulative
behaviour'.
â–ª Some of the men have developed psychotic symptoms.
â–ª Experts agree that indefinite detention is directly linked to a
deterioration in mental health.
â–ª It is judged unlikely under the men's current terms of detention,
that Prison Healthcare teams will be able to combat the deterioration
in their mental health.
Further findings
The men have never been interviewed or questioned; many were simply
arrested and taken straight to Belmarsh. Some are traumatised by the
circumstances surrounding their arrest. Others were already traumatised
by events that took place in their own countries - including torture.
Four of the men have been assessed with a view to transferring them to
Broadmoor maximum-security hospital because of the state of their
mental health. But so far only one man, Mahmoud Abu Rideh, a
Palestinian refugee previously tortured in Israel, has been moved
there.
Effect on family life
The report also examined the effects of detention without trial on
three of the wives of men held under the ATCSA. All were found to be
suffering from clinical depression, one was suffering from PTSD as a
result of seeing her husband arrested. Their symptoms were found to be
directly related to their husbands' imprisonment, with their own
isolation compounding their mental health problems.
The single men held under the ATCSA receive no visitors and are
completely isolated. The married men are highly anxious about their
wives and children. One doctor also reported that some of the men in
the early part of their detention, had access to their families
restricted. They were not even allowed to speak to them in Arabic.
Conclusions
The report concludes:'There is agreement that it is the indefinite
nature of the detention which is particularly damaging ... All of the
detainees are experiencing Major Depressive Disorder and Anxiety and
some are experiencing Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.'
The Institute of Race Relations is precluded from expressing a
corporate view:
any opinions expressed are therefore those of the authors.
© Institute of Race Relations 2004
http://www.irr.org.uk/2004/october/ha000015.html
NOTICE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107,....
full disclaimer http://www.duckdaotsu.org/fairuse.html
http://lists.igc.org/mailman/listinfo/duckdaotsu
a proud mediachannel.org affiliate
International Progressive Publications Network
duck feed at http://duckdaotsu.blogspot.com/atom.xml
No comments:
Post a Comment