Responding to the news of a violent death in Colnbrook immigration detention centre, Sarah Teather, JRS UK Director said:
“We are concerned and saddened to hear of another death in Colnbrook. Our prayers are with the man’s family.
“Colnbrook is a cauldron of loss, abandonment, frustration and anxiety. This violent death will have added yet another horrible dimension to the pain of people who languish there unseen and in limbo.”
JRS UK runs an outreach service to the two detention centres at Heathrow: Colnbrook and Harmondsworth. A team of religious and lay volunteers visit and accompany detainees offering pastoral support and help. The UK is unusual in having no limit for the time someone can be held in immigration detention. Some may held be in detention for short periods of time, but many may be detained for years on end before being released back into the community.
If you would like to volunteer to visit someone in detention with the JRS UK team, please contact uk@jrs.net.
