More criticism raised about rights abuses in asylum centres

The state secretariat has outsourced security issues to private companies. © Keystone/Anthony Anex

Amnesty International has launched fresh allegations about human rights violations in Swiss asylum centres.

The organisation said it had received “disturbing” accounts of abuse by security personnel in five national centres. Asylum seekers notably from north Africa, including children, complained about physical attacks and punishments as well as racial prejudice, said an Amnesty spokeswoman.

The allegations published on WednesdayExternal link are based on interviews with 32 people, including asylum seekers, security staff, lawyers and care personnel as well as medical reports and legal complaints. The suspected abuses occurred between January 2020 up to last month.

The claims are the latest in a series of allegations by NGOs and media reports about abuses in Swiss asylum centres.

The State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) which is in charge of the centres has rejected the criticism as unfounded.

“We strongly dismiss allegations about systematic human rights violations and ‘torture’ of asylum seekers,” a statement said.

SEM said it was taking seriously “fact-based criticism” and reiterated that an independent probe had been launched into suspected violence two weeks ago.

It referred to the latest report of the national commission for the prevention of torture – an expert group that confirmed that the national asylum centres are “basically in line with human rights and basic legal standards”.

Meanwhile, the non-governmental Swiss Refugee CouncilExternal link has called for an independent inquiry into the allegations and a systematic monitoring of reported abuses.

There are more than 20 national asylum centresExternal link across the country with a capacity of 5,000 places. Some of them are used to process asylum requests, while others are mainly occupied by people whose applications were rejected and are due to be deported.