Two asylum seekers who were involved in a mass attack on a hotel in Glasgow have brought a lawsuit against the Home office and their accommodation providers have found out about the Guardian.
The men, one of whom said he reported concerns about the attacker to management the night before the knife fights, are also calling for an independent investigation.
On June 26, 2020, Badreddin Abadlla Adam, a 28-year-old asylum seeker from Sudan, was stabbed to death six people, including a policeman at the Park Inn Hotel in Glasgow before the police shot him dead.
One of the two asylum seekers who are now bringing an action for rescission lost his spleen in the attack and therefore has to take medication for life. His asylum application was rejected in July this year and he is appealing the decision.
The other had supported Adam as he witnessed his mental health deteriorate after being relocated from separate accommodation in hotels along with 320 other asylum seekers at the beginning of the pandemic.
The evening before the attack, Adam told him that he wanted to stab people, he said. The asylum seeker reported this to the hotel management and considered the threat to be credible. The next day he was awakened by the fire alarm and when he opened his bedroom door he saw people lying on the floor in pools of blood. This man is waiting for a decision on his asylum application.
Both men say they do not hold Adam responsible for the attack because his mental health has deteriorated significantly. However, they raised serious concerns about alleged negligence by the Home Office and the Mears housing company.
Badreddin Abadlla Adam. Photo: Rex / Shutterstock
The evidence presented to the Supreme Court shows how tension built up at the Park Inn Hotel prior to the attack.
Many asylum seekers suffered from deterioration in their mental health. Some said they felt dehumanized by their treatment and said that if they raised mental health concerns they should “open the window” or “have an orange” while others were told to return to their home country if they came to the UK didn’t like.
Witnesses to the attack said they were traumatized and some had nightmares, PTSD and flashbacks. The stabbed asylum seeker said he was now afraid of going out and felt abandoned by the Home Office and Mears. The second asylum seeker said he felt like criminals when questioned by police.
He told the Guardian, “I would like asylum seekers to be treated better instead of being held in hotels. I really can’t blame Badreddin for what he did, he was in very bad shape. I blame the Home Office and I blame Mears. You haven’t listened enough. “
Sheroy Zaq of Duncan Lewis attorneys, who is taking the appeal to the High Court, said, “Vulnerable people continue to die while being housed by the Home Secretary and her affiliated private contractors and this is likely to continue unless and until Teaching.” be drawn from it. All the plaintiffs are asking, which should be indisputable, is that a lawful investigation into such tragedies take place, contrary to what appears to have happened so far; the interior secretary marks her own homework with an internal and unpublished review. “
Dylan Fotoohi of Refugees For Justice, a group created after the attack and an interested party, said: “Thousands have suffered physical and psychological damage in these hotels. This tragedy was avoidable. The underlying cause is the dysfunctional and incomprehensible way in which asylum shelters are managed. An independent investigation is needed so that lessons can be learned. “
A Home Office spokesman said: “Following the incident at the Park Inn Hotel, we commissioned an internal review to assess the circumstances in accordance with routine procedures. We take the well-being of the people entrusted to us very seriously. “
police Scotland Deputy Chief Constable Steve Johnson said, “The circumstances are being independently investigated by the Police Investigative and Verification Officer, under the direction of the Lord Advocate, so we have no further comment.”
Mears was asked to comment.
