Two asylum seekers have won a legal challenge against the government when a high court judge ruled on Thursday that it was a breach of their human rights to allow smoking in immigration detention centres.

The two men, both Muslims, also succeeded in a claim that they should have an option for prayer other than next to uncovered cell toilets, which they described as “deeply embarrassing and humiliating”.

Mr Justice Holman agreed that forcing Muslim detainees to pray next to toilets when locked in their cells overnight amounted to indirect discrimination and that allowing smoking in “enclosed or substantially enclosed areas” was unlawful.

As a result of his ruling, the home secretary, Amber Rudd, must take steps to rectify both problems across all 10 immigration removal centres in the UK. There may be concerns, however, about the potential for unrest among the smoking detainees if they are unable to smoke in their cells.

The case was brought by Mohammed Hussein, 23, from Ethiopia, and Muhammad Rahman, 35, from Bangladesh, both former detainees at Brook House immigration removal centre. They said that, despite being smokers themselves, sleeping in small and poorly ventilated three-man cells where all three detainees were smokers was intolerable.

The two men argued that observant Muslims were particularly adversely affected by such conditions. They had no choice but to pray next to a toilet while locked in their cells between 9pm and 8am.

Brook House attracted negative media attention last year when undercover filming by the BBC for its Panorama programme exposed alleged abuse of detainees by G4S guards. The Home Office introduced 60 three-man cells to Brook House in April 2017 to expand the number of places from 448 to 508. Around 48% of detainees in Brook House are Muslim.



Both former detainees welcomed the judgment. Rahman said that his time in Brook House had felt like a form of “physical and mental torture”.

“It’s totally inhuman,” he said. “The room I was in was very narrow. Although I’m a smoker it was very difficult to cope with the volume of smoke in one small room with three smokers in it without proper ventilation. It’s hard to imagine what it’s like unless you’ve been locked up there and experienced it.

“Things need to change. Although I’ve been released, this experience is continuing to affect me. I’m still having nightmares. I decided to bring this case because I didn’t want others to suffer the way I suffered.”

Lewis Kett, of Duncan Lewis solicitors, said: “We welcome the findings that the home secretary has had absolutely no regard to the potential discriminatory effect of the lock-in regime at Brook House on Muslim detainees and their right to properly practise their religion. Our clients have been forced to pray next to unsanitary and unscreened toilets in cramped conditions. The home secretary must now immediately take steps to remedy this.”

The Home Office said: “We respect the rights of detainees to practise their religious faith. Immigration removal centres are equipped with mosques and multi faith rooms for detainees to use for prayer, study and reflection. Communal prayers are available in all centres as well as facilities for prayer in the detainees’ rooms such as access to prayer mats. We will consider today’s judgment carefully.”