Who am I?

My name is Adam Abraham. I claimed asylum in the UK due to my fear of returning to my country of origin based on my sexuality as I am gay. My family had found out about my sexual identity and my father had threatened to kill me if I returned. The law in my country of origin prescribes criminal penalties for same-sex sexual acts.

I was granted refugee status in late 2017 and have since been working in the UK. Due to the fact that I am earning over the threshold to be entitled to legal aid I am now pleading with the public to help me in my challenge against my unlawful detention for the period of approximately two months.

The challenge

My solicitors at Duncan Lewis have been acting for me since February 2016 and are currently working for me at risk. I have instructed them in bringing a challenge against not only my unlawful detention but also the policy which allows the Government to detain LGBTI individuals. 

My case has recently been granted permission to appeal by the Court of Appeal on the basis that my case raises points of public interest.

The way I was treated in immigration detention has had a detrimental impact on me mentally. I am still on anti-depressant medication and attending counselling sessions for the trauma I have suffered.

I was detained in three different immigration removal centres with fellow detainees from my country of origin who I was scared to reveal my sexual identity to. 

I was also scared that if I revealed my claim to the authorities the fellow detainees would find out and I would be in trouble. I did not initially disclose my claim for fear of other detainees finding out.

The detention environment is not suitable for people in my situation. I was not provided with the necessary healthcare during my time in detention. My legal representatives are arguing that had I had the required assessment in detention within the first 24 hours I would not have been detained and I would have been able to disclose my claim at an earlier point in time.

What do I want to achieve?

I want the Government to realise that LGBTI individuals have characteristics that do not make them suitable for detention. The Government is currently failing to recognise these characteristics. Sadly no regard is being given to minimise the disadvantages within the Home Office’s detained asylum process for those who are gay and no steps are taken to meet the needs of LGBTI asylum seeking detainees within this system. I want to ensure that other LGBTI asylum seekers are not faced with the same discrimination I faced and can openly tell the authorities about their claim without the fear of reprisal from other detainees.

I am aware that there is grave harassment and violence by guards in detention centres and this has anecdotally been report by a number of NGO’s. I want to help other LGBTI individuals to ensure this sort of treatment does not happen and people are given a fair chance to claim asylum without fear of reprisal by others in a detention environment. If I did not have my solicitors advising me I would have been too fearful to tell the authorities why I feared return to my country of origin and I am aware not everyone has access to legal advice.

I need your support

I'm asking the public for support in this case to ensure people in my situation are not detained in the same way I was. Detention is not a suitable environment for vulnerable individuals like myself and we need to stop it now. My solicitors have worked tirelessly in the last three years and I want to ensure I can cover their legal costs. I also want to ensure that if I lose, I can cover costs that I may have to pay to the Home Office.

I am aiming to raise at least £15,000. 

Please contribute and share this page to help me in this very important challenge! Thank you in advance