On Nov. 8, British police arrested a migrant believed to be from Sudan, who allegedly raped a woman in a London hotel where he stayed courtesy of British taxpayers.
The incident reportedly occurred just one week after he arrived on British soil, and despite the serious allegation, police released him on bail and sent him to live at an ex-military camp, EuroWeekly News reports.
The ex-military camp, Napier Barracks, located near Folkestone in Kent, has been transformed into a facility designed to accommodate new asylum seekers.
However, this was not the only incident. Last week, police arrested a 30-year-old migrant accused of sending explicit images and text messages to a female charity worker. Similarly, the man was released on bail and sent to live in Napier Barracks.
“The Sudanese man has entered the country illegally and now been accused of an incredibly serious crime. He should be in custody until the matter is resolved. Instead, he’s living in quite a comfortable base where people can come and go, just by signing in and out,” said a local source enraged by the accommodating approach of the authorities.
About the man charged with sexual harassment, the source said that everyone is shocked that a charity worker was a target of such misconduct.
“But again, he has been sent back rather than being held, which seems very risky. There is nothing to stop these two from making a run for it and never being found,” he noted, adding that the facility for asylum seekers is more of a holiday camp than a detention base.
“The money being spent on the whole operation is absolutely mind-boggling,” concluded the local source.
Reports about the conditions in the camp say that the rooms are equipped with flat-screen TVs and computer games. Detainees have also access to the gym and receive meals from the local canteen three times a day. Some sources even claim that they receive supermarket vouchers and pay-as-you-go mobile phones with free credit. Despite these conveniences, last week, the asylum seekers at the location organized a protest against the living conditions in the camp.
Title image: A group of men, thought to be migrants, sit outside in the sunshine after arriving on Monday, at Napier Barracks in Folkestone, Kent, England, Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2020. Migrants will be housed in the military barracks from this week while their asylum claims are processed. (Gareth Fuller/PA via AP)
