Freedom From Torture research report critical of Home Office

The research shows how expert medical evidence of torture can be mistreated by caseworkers, who often rely on their own clinical judgment to assess asylum claims. In some cases this has led to applications for asylum being wrongly refused.

The report makes several findings about how the Home Office handles these claims:

• Expert medical evidence is often disregarded or mistreated.
• The standard of certainty required for medical evidence of torture to be accepted is nearly impossible to meet.
• Many caseworkers view medical evidence as an ‘obstacle’ that they have to overcome in order to reject the application.
• Caseworkers without clinical qualifications often replace expert medical evidence with their own opinions.

Read more: http://rightsinfo.org/freedom-torture-home-office-mistreating-expert-evidence-torture/

 

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