Following last week’s episode on the criminalisation of seeking asylum, today we take a deep dive into the prosecution and conviction of Ibrahimah Bah. Is he a scapegoat? Is he a victim of political imperatives? Our Guest is Frances Webber, Author of Borderline Justice, Barrister and board member of the Institute of Race Relations for over 40 years. The facts of this case raise serious questions and the prospects of an appeal loom large. Every Individual must be afforded a fair trial and the principles of justice and fairness demand that all including those who don’t have power and are the most vulnerable in society have access to justice.

Frances gives us a masterclass in how the judicial system sees and treats people seeking asylum. One hopes that the courts uphold the dignity and rights of all individuals, regardless of their circumstances, notwithstanding the UK Governments' unilaterally ‘rewriting’ the Refugee Convention and violating international law in that vein the organisation Captain Support is helping 175 people who face prosecution to find legal representation.

On the 12th of March 2024, they launched a letter-writing campaign calling for Mr Bah to be freed.

You too can play your part.

In this episode, we confront a disturbing reality unfolding, the criminalization of people seeking asylum, Britain of course is still a signatory to the Refugee Convention, a document it once championed. A recent report published by the Centre for Criminology at the No Such Thing As Justice Here lifts the veil on this criminalization law. One key feature of this report is the seminal trial of a Senegalese National, Ibrahima Bah whose age is contested, his birth certificate says he is 17 years old. He stands accused of steering a dinghy boat, in which tragically, four people perish, lost to the unforgiving depths of the sea. Bah, a person seeking asylum, now finds himself ensnared in a web of injustice. His testimony at Cantebury Crown Court paints a harrowing picture: forced at gunpoint to navigate perilous waters by people traffickers, compelled by circumstances beyond his control. 
And yet, his narrative is not one of solitary suffering. It finds echo in the voices of those who, against all odds, made it to the shores of Dover, bearing witness to the horrors endured on that fateful voyage.

What emerges is a stark indictment of a policy forged in the crucible of fear and intolerance. A policy that casts aside the principles of compassion and humanity, instead wielding the heavy hand of criminalization against those in their most vulnerable hour. And perhaps most chillingly, this policy finds its architects not in the distant halls of power, but in the children of immigrants themselves, Priti Patel, James Cleverly and Rishi Sunak who know all too well the struggle and resilience upon which migrating to this country is built upon. And so we must confront the uncomfortable truths that lie at the intersection of law and morality. For in the story of Ibrahima Bah lies not just a singular injustice, but a reflection of a broader crisis of conscience—one that demands our attention, our empathy, and our collective resolve to set things right.