Teen Migrant Sues UK Gov't for Sexual Abuse at Detention Center - Reports

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - A 19-year-old Vietnamese immigrant, who was illegally detained at the Morton Hall immigration removal center (IRC) in the UK city of Lincoln, has initiated legal proceedings against the UK government in connection with the sexual abuse he suffered at the IRC, The Guardian newspaper reported on Monday.

The individual was trafficked from Vietnam to the United Kingdom against his will at the age of 16 and was forced to work at a cannabis farm in Derbyshire, the media  reported. It was in this UK county where he was reportedly apprehended by police during a raid and accused of cannabis cultivation. He was then taken by police to a young offenders’ institution, from which he was transferred to Morton Hall.

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After the incident, the teen was kept at the IRC for another six months despite intervention from the Duncan Lewis law firm, which requested the teenager's release, the newspaper added. The UK Home Office acknowledged that the Vietnamese was subject to child slavery, but nevertheless proceeded with its attempts to deport him.

The Morton Hall IRC, in turn, recognized that the attack had taken place but took things slow with the internal investigation and launched the probe only after having been requested to do so by Duncan Lewis.

As such, Duncan Lewis is taking the Home Office to court to make it review deportation proceedings against the Vietnamese teenage and to acknowledge the defects in the country's treatment of slavery victims. The hearings of the case are set to take place later in May.

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In 2016, the Vietnamese teenager, who has already been considered a possible victim of child slavery, therefore exempting him from detention under UK law, was attacked by an individual also staying at the Morton Hall IRC, the newspaper revealed.