Direct Action

Official channels had failed so protestors turned to direct action. Passengers boarding the British Airways flight from Heathrow, taking Salim to Germany, were given leaflets by CAGE informing them of Salim’s presence, and encouraging them not to take their seats until he was allowed off. At 8am a passenger was arrested for standing up and refusing to let the flight depart. The flight was delayed for over 2 hours. Eventually, the pilot insisted Salim was taken off the plane and his forced deportation was prevented.. He is now back in detention in London. Salim's new solicitor believes his deportation was illegal as he had no proper legal representation. By trying to deport him in this way, the Home Secretary may have breached international law.

CAGE activists prevented another deportation some days later at Gatwick.

BA and its shareholders profited from 15,000 deportations in three months (January - April 2000). BA don't care about lives they endanger, but they do care about their image and don't like protests. Missing a take-off slot also means a £10,000 fine. Actions in Belgium forced commercial airlines to stop deporting asylum seekers. Work is also being done persuading the Pilot's Union to back pilots refusing to fly forced deportations. Messages of support from other Trades Unions are very much appreciated.

CAGE is a relatively new network that supports and creates resistance to the growing prison industry. It was formed by people in the Earth First! and Reclaim The Streets movements in September 1999. They organise without leaders to take effective direct action against prison building.

After nearly a year of action a newsletter is being put together to let people know what’s going on!