The last thing Abu Ali expected when he hid in a lorry on the final stage of a long and frightening journey from jail in Khartoum to the English coast was to find himself back behind bars.
Like other young Sudanese persecuted for their part in the protests that helped end Omar al-Bashir’s 30-year rule in 2019, he believed Britain, the former colonial power, would grant him sanctuary.
“My dream when I fled Sudan was that I would never be imprisoned again for no reason. I did not think this was possible in the UK,” the 22-year old said by phone from Colnbrook detention centre at Heathrow.
William Wallis and Jane Croft: IT via FT, 190622
