US Government Blocks British Court Hearing on Diego Garcia Citing Security Concerns

According to official records, the US government has refused to hold a British court hearing on British territory due to security concerns.

The highest court of the British Indian Ocean Territory (Biot) was scheduled to hold a hearing this week, attended by the BBC, to determine whether a group of migrants was being unlawfully imprisoned on the island of Diego Garcia.

The island is home to a classified UK-US military installation, and entry is strictly restricted.

According to official emails, the US announced last week that it was “withdrawing its consent” for lawyers representing migrants and “members of the press”—the BBC—to visit the island.

It stated that it would not allow hearing participants to board US military flights to Diego Garcia and would not provide “housing, transportation, and food for the visit”.

The US stated that it would be “willing to reconsider” if the visit was “conducted in a manner” that met its “security and operational concerns”.

Dozens of migrants arrived on the island in October 2021, claiming to have been fleeing persecution and attempting to sail to Canada to seek refuge when their boat became stuck near Diego Garcia.

Late last Thursday night, hours before the judge, UK government lawyers, refugees’ representatives, and the BBC were scheduled to board flights for the first leg of the journey, the court issued an order canceling the hearing.

The US security concerns stem from a site visit slated for the island as part of the hearing, which was to include the migrant camp and numerous other parts of Diego Garcia.

In a message dated July 3, headlined “United States Notification to the United Kingdom of denial of the 6-12 July 2024 visit by the Biot Supreme Court to Diego Garcia,” US authorities stated that the site visit posed “risks to the security and effective operation” of the facility.

It has previously stated that it was willing to allow access to locations such as the migrant camp, the surrounding beaches, and a chapel where children receive education.

However, it stated that it would not grant access to areas “open to civilian contractors and other non-military personnel,” such as a movie theater, a barbershop, and a bowling alley, the airport terminal, and “all US-controlled areas occupied by the Biot administration, the Royal Overseas Police, and the Royal Navy.”

According to court filings filed on behalf of Biot’s commissioner, the reasons for the island’s US military commander’s decision were “confidential and based on the US’s assessment of its own national security needs”.

Tom Short, a lawyer with the UK company Leigh Day, representing some migrants, said the cancellation of this week’s hearing was “a devastating blow to our vulnerable clients” and urged it to be rescheduled as soon as possible.

“Our clients have agreed to US demands that the site visit exclude certain US-controlled buildings (such as the gym and swimming pool where US cheerleaders and celebrity chefs visited earlier this year), as well as facilities such as the Turner Club and Golf Club (which Biot and FCDO civil servants frequent).”

“It is of paramount importance to our clients that the Judge see the detention camp and that they attend a hearing in person,” he claimed.

A virtual court session on Tuesday, attended by lawyers in London and migrants in Diego Garcia, aimed to establish the next steps in the case as talks between the UK and US governments continued.

After the hearing, migrants told the BBC they were disappointed that this week’s hearing had been canceled.

“It has taken away all our hope,” one woman stated. “We’ve been locked here for about three years. We hoped that this hearing would bring us some relief.”

In 1965, the UK acquired the sovereignty of the Chagos Islands, which include Diego Garcia, from its then-colony, Mauritius. It then evicted its population of over 1,000 to make a place for the military base.

Agreements struck in 1966 authorized the United States to exploit the region for an initial 50 years, followed by an additional 20 years. The agreement was subsequently “rolled over” in 2016, and according to the Biot website, it will now expire in 2036.

Biot is managed from London but is said to be “constitutionally distinct” from the UK.

Mauritius, which gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1968, claims ownership of the islands, and the United Nations’ highest court has decided that the UK’s administration of the area is “unlawful” and must terminate.

The US controls most of the troops and resources on Diego Garcia, including most of the island’s accommodation, transportation, restaurants, and businesses.

For security considerations, the US military commander may prohibit access to US military-operated or controlled places.

In a witness statement, Biot’s deputy commissioner, Nishi Dholakia, stated that it would be impossible to “make alternative arrangements to replace the logistical support which the US was due to provide” in time for the scheduled court hearing this week.

He stated that the chamber where the hearing was set could only be used if the United States cooperated.

According to Biot’s official website, only “those with connections either to the military facility or the Territory’s Administration” can visit the island.

Diego Garcia has been referred to as a significant strategic base for the US. Two B-52 bombers were sent there to conduct training drills earlier this year.

In recent decades, US planes have flown from the facility to strike Afghanistan and Iraq.

The UK government revealed that rendition flights landed on the territory to refuel in 2002. However, former CIA director Michael Hayden disputed that it was ever used to detain and interrogate terror suspects.

The first asylum petitions on Biot were filed by dozens of Sri Lankan Tamils who arrived in October 2021. Approximately 60 people, including at least 16 children, remain there, guarded by private security company G4S, as intricate court fights over their destiny play out.

This week’s session was scheduled for their first in-person meeting with their counsel. There have been many suicide attempts on the island, as well as claims of sexual harassment and assaults reportedly perpetrated by migrants in the camp.

Some migrants have been airlifted to Rwanda for medical treatment following self-harm and suicide attempts, while those who have successfully filed claims are awaiting the identification of a “safe third country” in which to resettle.

Last year, United Nations representatives visited the camp and found arbitrary detention conditions.

During Tuesday’s virtual session, one of the island’s migrants fainted repeatedly.

The Foreign Office has previously informed the BBC that the island is unsuitable for migrants to reside on and is “working tirelessly to process the migrants’ claims for protection and to find a suitable third country for those whose claims are upheld”.

“At all times, the welfare and safety of migrants on Biot has always been our top priority,” it stated earlier this year.

Source: BBC