UK seeks to move migrants held on secretive island

The UK has offered dozens of stranded migrants, held for years successful a campy connected a secretive UK-US subject land successful the Indian Ocean, a impermanent determination to Romania.

After six months, they could beryllium moved to the UK. Others successful the radical are being offered fiscal incentives to spell to Sri Lanka wherever they accidental they look persecution, the BBC has learned.

In 2021, dozens of Tamils became the archetypal radical ever to assertion asylum connected Diego Garcia aft their vessel ran into trouble.

The territory's antithetic presumption led to a agelong ineligible dispute, with the UK authorities saying that bringing them to Britain risked creating a "backdoor migration route".

The authorities has been approached for comment.

The connection to the migrants, by British officials connected the land connected Tuesday, came aft the UK announced it was handing sovereignty of the British Indian Ocean Territory (Biot), which includes Diego Garcia, to Mauritius. The subject base, however, volition stay connected the island.

The BBC gained unprecedented entree to Diego Garcia past period to be a tribunal proceeding implicit whether the radical had been unlawfully detained successful a tiny fenced camp, which is guarded by backstage information institution G4S.

A judgement successful the lawsuit is expected soon.

The British authorities has argued that the exile normal is not successful unit connected Biot due to the fact that it is "constitutionally distinct" from the UK, though it is administered from the Foreign Office successful London.

Instead, the Biot medication established a abstracted process to find if the Tamils could beryllium returned to Sri Lanka oregon beryllium granted planetary extortion - which the UN says is akin to exile status.

There are presently 59 Tamils inactive connected Diego Garcia. About 8 are presently successful Rwanda aft being transferred determination for aesculapian attraction aft self-harm oregon termination attempts.

Most of the migrants are awaiting decisions connected their planetary extortion claims oregon appealing rejections. In total, 8 person been granted planetary protection.

Over the summer, the apical authoritative moving the territory, Paul Candler, requested that the authorities bring each of the migrants to the UK due to the fact that of what helium described arsenic a "dangerous and unsustainable situation" successful the campy amid wide incidents of self-harm.

Mr Candler stepped down a period later, saying successful a resignation letter, obtained by the BBC, that helium had recovered the "migrants concern progressively difficult" and "the idiosyncratic enactment demands that this has placed connected maine progressively challenging".

Speaking to the migrants successful the campy connected Tuesday morning, Biot’s acting commissioner Nishi Dholakia said the UK authorities had considered the Biot administration’s earlier petition but had decided alternatively to "make antithetic offers to antithetic individuals".

"Some radical volition person offers to spell to different harmless state and others volition person an connection for voluntary return," helium said.

"I privation to reassure you that this announcement does not mean anyone volition beryllium leaving the land immediately. You volition each person clip to see the connection and adjacent steps."

Lawyers from the UK firms Leigh Day and Duncan Lewis, representing immoderate of the migrants, said it was "imperative the campy beryllium closed down without delay" and that the UK authorities "find a viable agelong word solution for each of the individuals and families".

Migrants - some connected the land and successful Rwanda - whose claims for planetary extortion person been approved, arsenic good arsenic families successful the campy with children, are to beryllium offered a transportation to a "safe centre" tally by the United Nations successful Romania portion the UK authorities continues to hunt for a "durable solution" - migrants told the BBC.

They person been told they volition stay successful the centre successful Romania for up to six months.

"Within those six months, the UK volition proceed to make a durable solution for you successful enactment with planetary standards. You tin take to judge immoderate solution presented to you during this time. If you bash not privation to judge immoderate offers made during those six months, you volition beryllium brought to the UK," letters from the Biot administration, seen by the BBC, say.

One man, presently successful Rwanda, who has been offered the determination to Romania described it arsenic "a precise large relief". Another migrant determination said it was the "happiest time successful 3 years".

Those who person had their extortion claims rejected and are not portion of household units wrong the campy person been offered fiscal incentives to instrumentality to Sri Lanka. According to a missive to migrants, seen by the BBC, this volition see £3,000, aesculapian security for 3 years, accommodation for up to 3 years, positive a occupation oregon grooming oregon acquisition opportunities.

The BBC understands that those who person not had their extortion claims approved person not yet exhausted each ineligible avenues. Lawyers representing the migrants are owed to alert to Diego Garcia to conscionable their clients this week.

"I didn't devour thing from the morning. I consciousness precise depressed," said 1 of the Tamils who has been treated for a intelligence wellness information successful Rwanda and has present been offered a instrumentality to Sri Lanka.

The archetypal Tamils arrived connected Diego Garcia successful October 2021, saying they had been fleeing persecution and trying to sail to Canada to assertion asylum erstwhile their vessel ran into occupation and they were rescued by the Royal Navy. Their relationship was backed up by maps, diary entries and GPS information connected board.

In the pursuing months, much boats arrived.

When the BBC visited the campy past month, men and women lined up against the six-foot obstruction and stood extracurricular their tents waving.

The campy is made up of beige domed subject tents utilized arsenic accommodation, and achromatic humanitarian tents that person been turned into makeshift communal rooms and a church.

Inside 1 of the tents, wherever astir 5 oregon six men sleep, 1 antheral lifted a sheet supra his furniture to uncover a nest of rats.

"Look, a leak. A rat hole," different said arsenic helium pointed urgently astir his tent, wherever sheets and towels were hung to make antithetic rooms.

The Tamils person been fixed greenish subject cots to slumber connected but person stacked woody pallets and flattened cardboard boxes connected apical successful an effort to marque them much comfortable.

Hand-written signs are hung successful the campy with slogans specified arsenic "We are treated similar animals successful a cage" and "This is simply a atrocious place".

Some showed disconnected efforts to amended their surviving situation, including a eating array made of pallets, and works beds lined with coconut husks.

Recently, an interior obstruction was erected splitting the campy betwixt the azygous men determination and families.

An autarkic societal idiosyncratic hired by 1 of the migrants’ lawyers described the concern successful the campy precocious past twelvemonth arsenic an "emerging intelligence wellness pandemic".

Outside the courtroom, men, women and children showed maine signs of self-harm.

During the tribunal sojourn to the camp, 1 pistillate wept arsenic she alleged that her girl had been assaulted by different migrant successful the tent, 1 of respective claims of intersexual assault.

Three men, who person each been either charged oregon convicted of offences wrong the camp, are being held successful a country adjacent to the island’s constabulary station.

Both United Nations and Red Cross representatives person antecedently raised concerns astir the usage of the campy and its conditions.

Following a sojourn precocious past year, the UN said the campy was "manifestly not appropriate" for radical to unrecorded successful semipermanent and raised peculiar concerns implicit reported intersexual assaults and harassment of children by different migrants.

The chapel utilized to big the tribunal proceeding usually functions arsenic a school. Educational posters were stuck connected the walls alongside children's drawings, 1 of which depicted a subject structure with thenar trees successful the background.

A abbreviated thrust distant from the camp, determination is accommodation for civilian contractors. Shops, bars, restaurants and leisure facilities, specified arsenic a bowling alley and cinema, are disposable to troops and contractors.

The Indian Ocean territory, located hundreds of miles distant from immoderate different population, is viewed arsenic an important strategical basal for the US.

Access to the land is heavy restricted and it has agelong been shrouded successful rumour and mystery. The UK authorities has confirmed that 2 US rendition flights landed determination successful 2002 but says the detainees did not permission the planes.

UK authorities lawyers earlier this twelvemonth opposed the BBC being granted entree to the land to be the hearing, but the Biot Supreme Court ruled successful the BBC’s favour, saying that "justice indispensable not lone beryllium done but indispensable beryllium seen to beryllium done".

The US - which controls astir unit and resources connected Diego Garcia - aboriginal said it would artifact entree to the BBC and lawyers representing the migrants. It besides said it would withhold food, transport and accommodation from each those attending the hearing, including the British judge.

The US and British authorities aboriginal allowed the proceeding to spell ahead, but with restrictions successful place. Additional G4S officers were flown implicit to defender the BBC and lawyers and guarantee entree astir the land was restricted.

If they judge Tuesday’s offer, the stranded Tamils could look a 4,600-mile (7,500km) travel to Romania and much clip successful limbo, oregon the instrumentality to Sri Lanka.

Standing extracurricular the courtroom alongside her parents past month, 1 12-year-old miss said that since seeing a subject craft walk implicit the camp, she had dreamed of being a aviator - truthful she excessively could alert away.