Inside £19-a-night Rwanda migrant hotel - football pitch, WiFi and countryside views

1 week ago 23

The Hope Hostel, where deported migrants will stay

The facade of the Hope Hostel in Kigali where asylum seekers will be put up for three months following their arrival in Rwanda.

The hotel has Wi-Fi, a football pitch and is said to have countryside views.

(Image: PA)

Asylum seekers flown to Rwanda will stay in a £19-a-night hotel that boasts a football pitch, Wi-Fi and rural views.

Images of the hotel the migrants will processed in for the first three months of their time in the east African country have been released. The accommodation has 50 twin rooms and according to Tripadvisor reviews it looks out over the surrounding hills.

However, before being shown into their rooms at Hope Hostel, new arrivals will need to pass through airport-style metal detectors and bag scanners.

After members of the House of Lords holding up the Rwanda Bill backed down, it quickly passed, prompting Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to declare that "nothing will stand in our way" of flights taking off.

However, legal challenges are expected to try and thwart Mr Sunak's plan, meaning that for the time being Hope Hostel may not see any asylum seeker arrivals. However, the PM has vowed not to allow the European Court of Human Rights to prevent the scheme from going ahead.

The Tory leader said: “The passing of this landmark legislation is not just a step forward but a fundamental change in the global equation on migration.

“We introduced the Rwanda Bill to deter vulnerable migrants from making perilous crossings and break the business model of the criminal gangs who exploit them.

“The passing of this legislation will allow us to do that and make it very clear that if you come here illegally, you will not be able to stay.

“Our focus is to now get flights off the ground, and I am clear that nothing will stand in our way of doing that and saving lives.”

The lush grounds of the Hope Hostel

Images taken from outside the hotel show lush green grass, bushes and trees dotted around outside the entrance to the 50-room building where the migrants will stay.

Following the passing of the Safety of Rwanda Bill, Home Secretary James Cleverly said: “The Act will prevent people from abusing the law by using false human rights claims to block removals.

“And it makes clear that the UK Parliament is sovereign, giving Government the power to reject interim blocking measures imposed by European courts.

“I promised to do what was necessary to clear the path for the first flight. That’s what we have done.

“Now we’re working day in and day out to get flights off the ground.”

(Image: PA)

The inward-looking hotel balconies

The hotel will host 100 asylum seekers at a time, although there are expected to be legal challenges to the scheme.

The Council of Europe's human rights commissioner, Michael O’Flaherty said: “The adoption of the Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill by the UK Parliament raises major issues about the human rights of asylum seekers and the rule of law more generally.

“The United Kingdom Government should refrain from removing people under the Rwanda policy and reverse the Bill’s effective infringement of judicial independence.”

(Image: PA)

The shared bathrooms the migrants will be using

Human rights groups have condemned the Government’s newly passed Rwanda deportation plan as a “breach of international law”.

The charity Freedom from Torture, alongside Amnesty International and Liberty, criticised the Government for ignoring the findings of the Supreme Court, which ruled the policy was unlawful in November.

(Image: PA)

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A motorcyclist rides past the gate of the hotel

Human rights organisations said the Bill poses “a significant threat to the rule of law” by undermining what protects people from an abuse of power by the state, and described Parliament as a “crime scene”.

They added that the UK is increasingly gaining a reputation for “playing fast and loose with its international obligations” and called for the asylum system to be rebuilt.

(Image: PA)

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