A Congolese refugee has shared his story as Freedom From Torture deliver a letter to Home Secretary Priti Patel (Picture: Joe Newman for Metro.co.uk/AFP/Getty/Gallo)

Activists warn refugees risk being ‘re-traumatised’ by ‘aggressive’ Home Office interrogations in which they are ‘wrongly assumed to be dishonest’.

They say the department’s ‘culture of disbelief’ still needs shaking off and that it has not taken lessons from the embarrassment of the Windrush immigration scandal.

In a letter seen by Metro.co.uk, Freedom from Torture and 19 other organisations call on Home Secretary Priti Patel for an overhaul of the asylum process so right decisions are made the first time.

They say transitioning to a ‘culture of humanity and protection’ will leave fewer people being forced to jump through hoops to get their refusals overturned at the cost of the taxpayer.




Their demands are being backed by Mosantu Ilunga, who says he was made to feel ‘like a criminal’ by UK officials after escaping torture at the hands of the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s police.

Mosantu, whose name has been changed for legal reasons, says he was subjected to an ‘aggressive’ seven hour grilling from Home Office officials (Picture: Joe Newman for Metro.co.uk)

A supporter of Congolese presidential candidate Martin Fayulu protects himself from police in January 2018 (Picture: AFP/Getty Images)

Civil unrest and political opporession has forced many to flee the country (Picture: AFP/Getty Images)

Back at home he was imprisoned three times with no trial between 2011 and 2013 just for being a member of the political opposition.

He said: ‘It was hard for my mum, she was telling me I should stop, many people are going to prison for it. But I wanted to take the risk.’

During a demonstration on the last day of election campaigning in 2011, he saw police gun down several of his comrades in a massacre which claimed the lives of 57 people.

While behind bars, Mosantu was forced to eat undercooked food which made him sick and had to share one bottle of water between 10 inmates at a time.

The activist, who is in his late twenties, was handcuffed with legs his tied, beaten with whips and had cold water poured on him.

On another occasion, he was deprived of food and forced to sit in the sun for hours at a time.

Mosantu eventually got his rejection overturned through an appeal, but is not sure what will happen if he applies to stay in the country permenantly (Picture: Joe Newman for Metro.co.uk)

Refugees from the DRC clash with police as they protest Joseph Kabila’s support from then South African President Jacob Zuma in December 2011 (Picture: Getty/Gallo Images)

Elections in the central African nation are often fraught with clashes and chaos (Picture: AFP/Getty)

Out of 74 torture survivors spoken to by Freedom from Torture, 85 per cent said they had been raped Congolese state officials while 42 per cent had been burnt.

Other inmates are cut with sharp objects, asphyxiated, given electric shocks and forced to stay in the same position for extended periods of time.

Mosantu, whose name has been changed for legal reasons and to protect his family’s safety back home, says he subject to a different kind of ‘mental torture’ after making it to the UK in 2015.

He still doesn’t know who paid for it, but a smuggler picked him up from prison during his last stretch and took him across the border to Angola.

But his life was still in danger there and he had to live in hiding in case someone recognised him and alerted DRC authorities.

The agent arranged a fake Angolan passport for him to travel to the UK, but Mosantu kept a Congolese voter ID card with him to prove his identity.

Displaced civilians fleeing violence in the Congo (Picture: Getty/Asia Pac)

Flares launched by police at a protest in the city of Goma, September 2016 (Picture: AFP/Getty Images)

Freedom From Torture are calling for an overhaul of the Home Office’s culture to prevent people being sent back to dangerous countries to appeal (Picture: AFP/Getty Images)

After claiming asylum, he was given a seven hour grilling from Home Office officials who he says refused to believe he was from the DRC.



He answered very specific questions about local bus routes and directions on how to get around the capital of Kinshasa but says nothing was good enough.

His voter ID card was sent off for analysis at the National Document Fraud Unit (NDFU) and came back with ‘inconclusive results’.

Mosantu also got a friend back home, who has since disappeared, to post his school certificate, a background check form needed to go to university, and a birth certificate.

He says ‘aggressive’ interviewers were suspicious about him wanting to speak his native language of Lingala instead of French – both of which are spoken in the Congo.

When officers asked if they could call the London branch of the political opposition to confirm his identity, he says they did not guarantee his safety if he agreed.

Poor job prospects for young people and a distrust in the political system often sparks unrest during DRC elections (Picture: AFP/Getty)

Mosantu says he was pressured to accept he was Angolan, but was still told he had to return to the DRC (Picture: Joe Newman for Metro.co.uk)

A man covers his nose as he walks through an empty cell at the main prison in Goma November 22, 2012 after fighting between military forces and rebels (Picture: Reuters)

Mosantu was left in limbo for two years – well over the standard six months – before getting a refusal letter, which said his ‘nationality is doubted’.

It admonished him for choosing to do the interview in Lingala, even though he agreed to take a French test, which was never carried out in the end.

He added: ‘They said “you need to accept you’re Angolan,” there was his pressure to accept, to accept everything.

‘It makes you feel down, like you’re nothing, I was treated like a criminal.’

He said excessively long lines of questioning and the hostile environment he was in ‘makes you feel like you’re in prison’.

Freedom From Torture’s senior policy advisor Natasha Tsangarides said there’s a danger of the process ‘re-traumatising’ refugees who have fled their home countries in heartbreaking circumstances.

The DRC is often seen as a political powder keg with a great deal of unrest and violence (Picture: AFP/Getty Images)

Mosantu worries for the safety of his family back home and fears the DRC regeime was behind some of his friends disapearing (Picture: Joe Newman for Metro.co.uk)

The letter to Priti Patel calls for asylum decisions to be made right ‘the first time’ (Picture: Getty)

The Home Office told Mosantu he had to go back to the Congo, despite not believing his story, but he managed to get the move overtrned in a legal appeal a few months ago.


In the letter being delivered to the Home Secretary today, Freedom from Torture says: ‘Too many people seeking refuge in this country are disbelieed and wrongly turned away by Home Office decision-makers.

‘In order to prove they need safety here, they often must endure an appeals process that is lengthy, traumatic and costly to the taxpayer.’

It claims nearly two in five appeals against asylum refusals last year were succesful meaning many people are needlessly being put at risk.

The charity’s Lessons Not Learned report claims little has changed to rid the Home Office of its ‘culture of disbelief’ and ‘inefficient decision-making’ despite 15 years of research and recommendations to change.

Calling for Patel to accept the report’s findings, the letter adds: ‘We believe that the impetus for reform must come from government. We know that inside the Home Office there is appetite for this.

Thousands of displaced people take refuge in July 2019 in the grounds of a Catholic Church in Drodo, east of the country (Picture: AFP/Getty Images)

Copyright: 2011 Gallo Images

Mosantu was not safe in neighbouring Angola and had to use a fake passport to get to the UK (Picture: Joe Newman for Metro.co.uk)

Congolese National Police patrol the streets of Goma on December 28, 2018 (Picture: AFP/Getty)

‘Until it is given full backing by ministers, however, real and lasting change will not be achievable.

The letter calls for the department to ‘ensure that the correct law and policy is used in deciding applications’, for decisions to be ‘right first time’ and for a ‘culture of humanity and protection’ to be instated.

It adds: ‘Britain is at a crossroads. Successive governments have failed to counter toxic narratives around immigration and asylum and lead an efficient department that provides protection from persecution to all those who need it.

‘Change is possible, and essential, but requires commitment at the highest level.’

A Home Office spokesperson told Metro.co.uk: ‘The UK has a proud record of providing protection to those fleeing persecution.


‘In the 12 months to June we gave protection to over 18,500 people, the highest number since 2003.’

The department said its staff work tirelessly to provide a ‘fair and compassionate’ service which safeguards vulnerable people.

It says officers have received rigorous training to consistently make good decisions and that its workforce of decision makers has expanded from 350 to 600.

The department says improvements being made will help speed up the service and have fewer decisions overturned by appeal.

“This report brings together information from reports that are up to 15 years old and does not describe the current asylum system. The Home Office has made significant changes over this period.

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