„Hundreds of asylum cases set for appeal
THERE are fears asylum seekers have been wrongly deported from Britain because of a controversial language-checking system heavily criticised by the Supreme Court.
[…] „It was worrying when you looked at the format of the reports, and these people who were said to be language experts would go on to comment on the person’s knowledge of the country, which had nothing to do with linguistics. […] „There will have been cases when people have been removed incorrectly,“ she said. „They use these reports a lot and, of course, the irony is that the applicants are sent back to where they claim to be from, rather than where the Home Office believes them to be from.“ […]
The judge in that case, Lord Eassie, said the experts made statements in the reports „without any evident expert foundation“. He also expressed „serious reservations“ that Sprakab staff remain anonymous, given that a basic principle in law is that a person is entitled to know the identity of a witness against him.However, no recommendation was made on this, with the Supreme Court saying asylum tribunals could continue with the practice.The Supreme Court agreed with Lord Eassie that the appeal by the Secretary of State should be dismissed, with one of the cases returned to the asylum tribunal for reconsideration and the other applicant automatically granted asylum.Immigration activist Robina Qureshi said: „There have been people who have been treated unjustly as a result of these reports and there will be not just hundreds but thousands of cases which now need to be looked at.“ […]“
via Hundreds of asylum cases set for appeal | Herald Scotland.