Eight Pakistani asylum seekers end week-long hunger strike

A hunger strike in Victoria Prison throughout last week by a group of Pakistani asylum seekers was brought to an end yesterday after intervention by United Nations refugee staff.

News of the fast, which left one of the eight in hospital, emerged last night. The men's action has prompted the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to warn it is struggling to cope with the rising number of would-be political refugees in detention.

UNHCR officials say the number of asylum seekers behind bars in the SAR is rising significantly as a result of a clampdown by the Immigration Department since the September 11 attacks. Before then, asylum seekers were sometimes allowed to pursue cases outside jail, but now more are being locked up under stricter rules.

Some of the eight hunger strikers halted their fast after UNHCR staff went into the prison and urged them to stop on Friday, but an unknown number refused to eat until yesterday. The condition of the hunger striker in hospital was not known last night.

Each of the group applied for political asylum after they were detained for overstaying on visitor visas. They claimed they would face persecution if sent back to Pakistan, a visitor to Victoria Prison told the Post.

Daniela Cicchella, head of the UNHCR's sub-office in Hong Kong, declined to specify the number or nationalities of those fasting for safety reasons, adding that the majority had had their initial applications turned down and were appealing.

'In recent months stricter policies by the immigration authorities have led to a significant increase in the number of asylum seekers in detention, and this is a matter we have to consider on our limited budget,' she said.