A MEDICAL charity has expressed fears for the safety of asylum-seekers facing deportation to Rwanda, warning the removals could lead to a rise in detainee self-harm and suicide attempts.

Home Secretary Priti Patel announced today that the first deportation flight to the East African country is expected to leave Britain on June 14. 

Officials said a group of asylum-seekers have been sent formal notices advising them that they will be relocated to Rwanda in two weeks. 

Those targeted for deportation are all said to be in detention. Among them is at least one Afghan asylum-seeker, according to campaigners.

The news has heightened fears over the safety of those facing deportation to Rwanda.

Emma Gin, the director of Medical Justice, a charity supporting several people who have been given notices of intent to Rwanda, said: “We fear for the safety of our clients in detention threatened with removal to Rwanda.

“Highly vulnerable people who self-harm in detention are routinely put in restraints and locked in segregation cells.”

Ms Gin said that a wave of charter flights in 2020 to remove people who arrived in small boats saw a steep increase in the numbers of detainees self-harming and suicide attempts. 

Use of force against detainees to prevent self-harm and the use of “constant watch” to prevent suicides also rose during this time, she added.

Bail for Immigration Detainees research and policy manager Rudy Schulkind said Britain’s deal with Rwanda poses a “grave risk” to the mental health of the “most vulnerable in our society.” 

“This will have a disproportionate impact on people from the global South, who make up the majority of people arriving in the UK to claim asylum.

“We urge the government to rethink this disastrous policy.”

The Morning Star spoke to three asylum-seekers who said they would take their lives if targeted for deportation to Rwanda. 

The announcement has also been described as an attempt by ministers to divert attention away from the PM’s crumbling leadership amid the partygate scandal. 

Freedom from Torture chief executive Sonya Sceats said: “Given serious legal questions still awaiting judicial scrutiny, this announcement looks like political grandstanding by a prime minister desperate to divert the public from speculation about his fitness to lead our country.”