Rejected Iraqi Asylum Seekers Beaten

Apparently the United Nations refugee agency said that, on Friday, it was in the middle of investigating accounts by rejected Iraqi asylum seekers who were deported from Britain. Reports claim that they were beaten by British border agents forcing them onto a plane.

A spokesperson for the agency said that they are looking into the accounts of mistreatment among rejected asylum seekers. Claims suggest that the men were forcibly put onto a plane and returned to their home country.

Lawyers for the agency in Baghdad interviewed 14 of the 42 men that were forcibly returned on Friday. The spokesperson said that the men claimed that they were beaten by agency personnel in the airport in London while being forced onto the plane.

Officials have met with six of the Iraqis and saw fresh bruises which indicate mistreatment had occurred. Another 36 Iraqi asylum seekers were still being held at Baghdad airport by authorities. All that have been interviewed so far said that 42 rejected Iraqi asylum seekers had been deported to Baghdad against their will.

The UK was among four European countries that deported failed Iraqi asylum seekers earlier this month. Right now agency guidelines for all governments say that Iraqis should not beset home to five central provinces, including Baghdad. These areas still remain unsafe.

However, a spokesperson for the UK Border Agency said that they only ever return those who both the UK Border Agency and the courts are satisfied do not need their protections and refuse to leave voluntarily. A minimum use of force is an absolute last report. Force would only be used when the individual becomes disruptive or refuses to comply.