Captain Support UK

 

Captain Support UK is a collective acting in solidarity with people criminalised and imprisoned for crossing the border. We are in touch with and supporting around 200 people who have been charged and imprisoned under criminal law, either for arriving or for ‘facilitating the arrival of others’ through piloting the dinghy they travelled in. This number is increasing all the time. Many of those who piloted the dinghy did so under duress and/or because they had no other way of crossing the border to seek safety. 

This is just one aspect of the criminalization and persecution of migrants and refugees that has made it illegal for many people to seek asylum in the UK. People who have come to the UK seeking safety are incarcerated in difficult-to-reach prisons with little access to support, legal representation, contact with family, interpretation and basic items such as clothes. Many people that we are in touch with are struggling with their mental health and the effects of isolation and uncertainty, both about their length of sentence, and what will happen next. 

The maximum sentence for illegal entry under Section 24 of the amended Immigration Act 1971 is now 4 years. For facilitation (including boat driving), under Section 25, the maximum sentence is life imprisonment. 

Captain Support members write letters, visit people in prison and offer practical and social support, depending on what people want and need. We allocate £30 per month to each person we are in touch with.  You can read more about Captain Support, the criminalisation of people on the move and the recent unjust conviction of Ibrahima Bah here: https://captainsupport.net/blog/category/regions/uk/